The No.1-ranked T20 batsman Suryakumar Yadav visualised some of his best innings, to try and come out of a rut after he was out for three ducks during the home series against Australia. He also said that prior to the games against Australia, he had become more selective in his stroke-making. Speaking ahead of Mumbai Indians’ last league game against Sunrisers Hyderabad, Suryakumar said he didn’t tinker with his technique during the mini-bad patch. “Actually I did not change anything. I was only thinking (about) what I had done in the last two years, which has helped me and worked for me. I stuck to that, be it coming to the nets session or spending time outside with the family or with teammates. I did not change anything. I knew I was batting well in the nets and everything was going well, and today or tomorrow that knock will be coming soon,” Yadav said. About being more selective in his shot-making Suryakumar added: “You have to be aware about what shots to play when you go in to bat. As I said, where my runs are on the ground and I stick to that.” Post the three ducks, Yadav didn’t set the IPL on fire. But as the tournament progressed, he found his touch and now has a tally of 486 runs, including a century against Gujarat Titans. Suryakumar says he doesn’t allow success or failure to affect him. He admitted it was easier said than done but he had developed a sense of equanimity. “I feel it’s very important to have that balance in life. That’s what I have learnt from last year and this. The last year was full of highs. This year, it started the way I wanted it to start but then suddenly, three-four ducks in four-five games. I realised that you have to create that balance in your life… whether you are doing well or not,” the Mumbai player said. “It’s difficult because it’s human tendency. It’s very easy to say that you have to balance it out, stay grounded. It’s very easy. But to implement that in real life is difficult. If you create that balance, and stay the same with your friends and family when you are scoring runs as you are when you are not scoring runs, then it actually reflects in the game. I have felt it during the last month. At the start of the IPL, I started thinking: ‘where are my runs!’ But then I started doing the same things which helped me do well last year and everything came back to place.” Suryakumar also spoke about recent conversations he had with former World Cup-winning captain and current Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni. “When we played them here (in Mumbai), it’s funny, we didn’t speak about cricket. He asked me if everything was ok at home if everything was okay between my ears…was my mind ok? And the third thing he asked was which is the next car I was going to buy. It’s always good and fun to chat with him. Recently when we went to Chennai, we had a long conversation. He’s always told me to be grounded and never forget your roots,” Suryakumar narrated.
