‘Things were a bit tough after T20 World Cup’: Suryakumar Yadav begins tough phase

Suryakumar Yadav (AFP Photo) MUMBAI: India’s T20 World Cup 2026 captain Suryakumar Yadav has admitted that the first few months after being dropped from the Indian team, following the country’s second T20 World Cup triumph, were “difficult”. However, the birth of a daughter during IPL 2026, on May 7, has also “beautified” an otherwise challenging period for him.After leading India to a memorable victory over New Zealand in the final on March 8 in Ahmedabad, Suryakumar was left out of India’s tours of Ireland and England after a long spell of weight loss. Since then, he has remained out of the national team, a phase he admits was difficult to cope with.“After the T20 World Cup, things were a bit tough. I don’t want to run away from that fact. If you’re not honest with yourself, it’s very difficult to lead a happy life. So, to be very honest, it was very difficult. But at the same time, I was blessed with a May baby girl during the IPL. The focus completely shifted to her. Last few months, Suramar was born, since the event. Mumbai on Tuesday.The 36-year-old, who was named the captain of the Mumbai team for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy by the Mumbai selectors on Monday, revealed that a candid conversation with his wife Devisha Shetty helped him rediscover his love for the game.“However, the first two months were very difficult. But then I thought, why not go back and think about how I was before? How I started my cricket journey when I only thought about playing age-group cricket for Mumbai and eventually representing Mumbai in first-class cricket. I sat down and thought about all these things and started talking to my wife. She said the same love and passion that I needed.” the game I had when I was a 15-year-old boy who wanted to represent Mumbai in under-15 cricket,” he said.“So, that’s what I started thinking about and now I’m following the same things I did 10-15 years ago. I’m training again, following the same passion and the same love for the game. Everything is back to normal now. When you start thinking about it and focus on playing this sport, you want to do well for your team and your family. Things are changing completely and that’s what I’m doing right now,” he added.With Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) president Ajinkya Naik and other officials present at the event, Suryakumar made it clear that his immediate goal is to lead Mumbai to the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title. The tournament begins on November 14 and Mumbai are scheduled to play their league matches in Kolkata.“The main goal is what I was thinking about earlier: to win matches for Mumbai and win the championship for Mumbai. Simple,” he said.

“Sachin sir gave me his dressing room space in Mumbai”

Suryakumar also fondly recalled his early days in Mumbai cricket, particularly the incident with legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar that stayed with him for years.“When I first walked into the dressing room in 2010-11, I had seniors like Sachin sir, Amol Muzumdar and Ajit Agarkar. There were so many players I looked up to. Whenever they went for training, I spent a lot of time with them and chatted. Sachin even gave me his space in the small dressing room in Mumbai where he sat in the Ganesh Murti. (the statue) was quite a special moment, very memorable as I gradually started taking over, I don’t want to talk about when I first captained Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy because I was completely different from then on,” he recalled.The former India captain also spoke about the hunger and ambition he sees among the younger players in Mumbai’s dressing room, adding that he is making himself available to lead them.“But now when I look at all the boys and spend time with them, I see a completely different kind of passion and hunger. They want to achieve something, build a brand, represent Mumbai at franchise level, play for the Mumbai Cricket Association and eventually represent India. I spend time with many of them. My room is always open 24/7 to talk about and talk about, they can come with me.” I can take things a step further, I have seen so many cricketers playing together at the maidans in Mumbai and they have learned a lot of tricks from each other – how to handle situations, how to deal with the sport and most importantly, we talk about how we can grow together,” he said.“That’s what I’ve seen over the last few months and years, whenever I’ve been part of the Mumbai dressing room and had the opportunity to spend time with the boys. Even though I didn’t get that opportunity during this Ranji Trophy season, going forward, in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, there are definitely good times ahead,” he added.Suryakumar said he is excited to work with the next generation of Mumbai cricketers and help them take the team forward.“There is still a lot to learn and I continue to learn from all the players. There are a lot of young cricketers in the team right now. As Mr. Rajdeep showed in the video of Suved Parkar, Divyansh Saxena and others, these boys are getting a platform to play domestic cricket, get recognition from IPL franchises and eventually they will pick me. I think the time I spend with them is very important and the time I spend with them is very important for me. I am for this association he has been here for the last 16 years and the energy and passion is still there, I would be very happy to lead the team and win the tournament,” he said.

‘Your aim should never be to play only in the IPL’

Suryakumar also emphasized that young cricketers should not make playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) their primary ambition. Instead, they believe that representing Mumbai and eventually India should remain their biggest goal.“I feel like the ultimate goal, or even the first goal, should never be to think about playing in the IPL. Everyone dreams of playing for India. If you ask any kid who is playing maidans cricket in Mumbai right now, they won’t say they want to play in the IPL. The first thing they say is, ‘I want to play for Mumbai. I want to represent Mumbai first-class in age group cricket, I want to have that cap,’ which is really strange,” he said.“Then when you do well in domestic cricket and perform well, you get recognition. That’s when everything else comes into play. So the first dream has to be to play for India, but you have to take it one step at a time. Obviously, representing Mumbai in age-group cricket, playing club cricket – which I think is one of your most prestigious opportunities. up, as they rightly said, the platform will be there,” he explained.“So focus on that and everything else will follow. To play for Mumbai and then to play for India – I think those two things are very, very special. The platform is important and MCA provides so many opportunities,” concluded Suryakumar.