Tags: New Zealand tour of India, 2023,
India vs New Zealand, 3rd T20I at Ahmedabad, Feb 01, 2023,
New Zealand,
India,
Suryakumar Ashok Yadav
Published on: Feb 01, 2023
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When Suryakumar Yadav steps onto the field at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday, February 1, he would be returning to the venue of his T20I debut. After a long wait, SKY made his international debut against England in March 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. His exploits in his debut series thus came in front of empty stands.
Cut to 2023, Suryakumar is excited to play again in Ahmedabad, and this time in front of a full house. With the T20I series against New Zealand on the line, there is plenty at stake. Speaking at a press conference ahead of the decider, Suryakumar went into rewind mode. Sharing his emotions, he said, “It feels good. When I came to the dressing room, I told our manager that I have come back to where it started. I was taking the steps down quietly and thinking back of 2021. Great memories. This will be completely different. Expecting an amazing crowd at the stadium.”
Moving on to the main discussion ahead of the third T20I against the Kiwis on Wednesday, the pitch in Lucknow, SKY downplayed all the criticism and the controversy. He stated that it was better to move on and not keep talking about it. The 32-year-old explained, “We did what was in our control. We had to apply ourselves and adapt. It was an exciting game and the match is competitive, so the wicket should not matter that much I feel. You go there, have a challenge, accept it and move on.”
While Ranchi and Lucknow, in particular, produced low-scoring games, a much better surface is expected for batters in Ahmedabad. In the 2nd T20I, Suryakumar and Hardik Pandya had a tough time chasing down a target of 100. Speaking about his batting partnership with Pandya, the vice-captain said, “We’ve been batting together for a very long time and have had good partnerships. We were trying to have a good laugh towards the end (in Lucknow match) and back each other.”
After the T20I series, the focus will shift to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia, which begins on February 9. While Suryakumar has been named in India’s red-ball squad for the first time, he is keen to stay in the present. The in-form batter stated, “Test cricket…everyone wants to play it. When you start playing domestic cricket, you start with red-ball only. There is excitement. We all know what an exciting series it is going to be. At the same time, you want to be in the present and we know this is the decider. After that, there is lot of time to think about it.”
–By A Cricket Correspondent
