“Very happy to be sledged by him” – Suryakumar Yadav recalls stare-off with Virat Kohli in IPL 2020

“Very happy to be sledged by him” – Suryakumar Yadav recalls stare-off with Virat Kohli in IPL 2020

Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli

Suryakumar Yadav has been one of the most consistent performers in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Despite his stupendous knocks, it took a great deal of time for him to earn his first national call-up. But once he was called up and chosen in the playing XI for the T20Is against England, Suryakumar grabbed the opportunity with both hands as he came up with brisk knocks to make a statement that he was here to stay.

It was his showings in IPL 2020 that helped him earn the call-up as he scored in excess of 500 runs and played an integral part in Mumbai Indians (MI) retaining the title. One of his more iconic knocks in the tournament was against Virat Kohli‘s Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) where he saw his side through in a tricky chase with a stellar innings. The match also saw some bit of sledging from Kohli and a stare-off between him and Suryakumar Yadav.

Suryakumar Yadav opens up on the sledging incident

Suryakumar Yadav
Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav spoke during a live session on Instagram with Mumbai Indians where he recalled the incident and said, “It’s not just me, he goes hard at any batsman batting against him. I was happy that he sledged me. It means even Kohli knew that if I bat on, we will win the match and if they got my wicket, then maybe they could slow us down and create a chance to win. I am a cool and calm customer on the pitch, so I don’t get into these rivalries. But there was that moment in Abu Dhabi, so I guess that can go down as one.”

Suryakumar Yadav is now likely to be picked for India’s tour of Sri Lanka which will take place in July where the series is bound to be an audition for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in October in which he could play a part.

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