‘Virat sacrificed his number three position for me’- Suryakumar Yadav lavishes praise on Kohli after leading India to a win over New Zealand
Suryakumar Yadav (Photo by Pankaj Nangia/Getty Images)
India batter Suryakumar Yadav has praised Virat Kohli for his selflessness. Kohli had sent Yadav ahead of himself against Namibia in the 20-20 World Cup. Yadav said while he is comfortable at any position, batting at 3 and getting some world cup game time helped him a lot. The batter was speaking after playing a match-winning knock of 62 against New Zealand which helped India win the 1st T20I by five wickets.
“I am very flexible with the batting order. I have batted from opening to No7. I can bat at any position and I am happy with that,” Suryakumar said in the post-match press conference.
“I still remember when I made my batting debut, he was the one who sacrificed his position and let me go at No. 3 when I played against England and he batted at 4. It was the same thing. He asked whether I want to go in so that I get some World Cup game time. It was really nice of him and I enjoyed coming back not out in that game.”
India lost KL Rahul early in a challenging run-chase of 165. However, Yadav along with Rohit Sharma kept the Indian scoreboard galloping.
Yadav can drop anchor and also play aggressively if the situation demands. Against New Zealand in the first T20I, the Mumbai Indians batter was ready to play the waiting game and only cut loose after taking India to a safe position. The right-hand batter said familiarity at the role helped him to bat well. Notably, Yadav has batted at number three for Mumbai Indians for three years.
“I am batting at No.3 for the last three years for my franchise (in IPL) so it was nothing different. I don’t try to do any different. I just am myself and try to enjoy the format,” he added.
