The India captain, Rohit Sharma, has discussed Suryakumar’s improvement as a cricketer and his value to the team. In both domestic cricket and the IPL, Suryakumar and Rohit shared a dressing room. Suryakumar acknowledged the support and assurance shown by his skipper.
“He’s been watching me and talking about my cricket since I played domestic cricket. Coming into IPL in 2018-19 we used to talk a lot about my game, how I can improve, handle pressure situations and move forward and take the game ahead. We have had a lot of chat about my game and I have literally felt him on the ground whenever he’s leading. I have learnt a lot form him. I’m really happy he has shown a lot of confidence in me.
Suryakumar recently scored a T20I hundred, almost leading India over the finish line, and garnered a tonne of accolades for it. When it came to Suryakumar’s shot choice, there were some analogies to AB de Villiers in Rohit’s profuse praise for the batter.
“I still remember during 2021 IPL second leg, I was not going through a good patch and he was the one who had a lot of chat with me (and supported me). The way things are going, I would like to pay back that confidence by scoring runs and winning the game for the team,” said Suryakumar.
“It’s good, you get the motivation to do well,” said Suryakumar about the truckload of praises showered on his after the hundred. “I scored a hundred and obviously I was happy with the personal milestone. But at the same time there was an opportunity there to get the win for the team. What I could have done better there, that was the important thing for me to realise there. But I I get such praises, it feels good, I get the motivation to do even better going forward.
“When I started domestic cricket, when I made my debut for Mumbai, it was him (Rohit) who was batting at the other end. He always tries to think about what I can add to my game. We speak a lot about cricket, which areas I can improve, how long I can bat and help the team. Everyone likes personal milestones but at the same time if you keep the team ahead of you, your performances will always be good,” added Suryakumar.
