Ashok Kumar Yadav, the father of Indian shotmaker Suryakumar Yadav, the one with an invisible 360-degree field radar in his head, laughs frequently during a conversation. It is the sign of a man at ease with himself, in no small part due to the charmed turn life has taken for his family in the last few years. (More Cricket News)
With 225 runs in five innings at the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia, at a strike rate of nearly 194, the 32-year-old Surya has expectedly become one of the pivots of the Indian campaign.
Next up are the semis against England in Adelaide on Thursday. But back home in Anushakti Nagar, Mumbai, the Yadav brood will try to have as normal a day as possible.
바카라Nowadays, he (Suryakumar) doesn바카라t become nervous, so we don바카라t either,바카라 laughs Yadav Sr, chief engineer at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), when Outlook asks if the family had elaborate plans for the semis. 바카라I will go to office, discharge my duties and then watch the game with my colleagues. My daughter (Dinal) will go to her office too. My wife (Sapna) is very religious. She goes to Siddhivinayak or Mahalaxmi temple and does a puja. She prays for India to win, but normally doesn바카라t watch the match.바카라Â Â
Anushakti Nagar is not any other colony. It houses scientists and academic standouts employed by the BARC. With nearly 10,000 flats, the vast complex nestles among hills and greenery in a far corner of Mumbai and has a high number of children growing up. Suryakumar aside, its Next-Gen achievers include former Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal and singer Shreya Ghoshal.
바카라I바카라ve been living here since 1989, and Surya spent nearly 26 years of his life here till he moved out in 2016,바카라 says Yadav Sr. 바카라This colony is full of scientists and engineers, and their kids tend to follow in the same direction. When Surya was 10, he started playing cricket and badminton. He was good at both. But his coach, Ashok Kamat, who was also an employee of our department, said Surya could surely reach Ranji level at least. So we decided to let him play.바카라Â
It helped that the colony had a ground of its own. Besides, stalwarts such as former Indian captain Dilip Vengsarkar and batsman Lalchand Rajput had ties with the colony and would often visit.
Suryakumar scored heavily in age-group cricket, and in 2010, earned a Mumbai Ranji Trophy debut. IPL deals followed, but the India cap remained elusive. Â
바카라Even after performing in the IPL, he wasn바카라t getting the [India] chance,바카라 says Yadav Sr. 바카라I would tell him, 바카라Don바카라t worry. Today or tomorrow you will get selected바카라. We would speak about Mike Hussey. He was 30-plus when he made his debut, and he became Mr Cricket for Australia.바카라Â
This approach liberated Surya. 바카라He got his debut very late (March 2021). Now he has nothing to lose [and is able to play freely],바카라 says Papa Yadav. With a guffaw, of course. Â
Going on a diet, and the faith showed in him by Mumbai Indians, further helped Surya바카라s confidence, his father says.
바카라Around 2015 or so he gained so much weight. And there also were some consistency issues,바카라 Yadav Sr says. 바카라His 2016 IPL season wasn바카라t good. Even In Ranji Trophy, some of the matches didn바카라t go well for him. A few of his contemporaries like KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah then got their India cap, and people started saying to Surya, 바카라Your colleagues are playing at the highest level, why not you?바카라. He had a moment of realisation there, and he became serious about his diet and worked on his fitness and game.바카라Â Â
Yadav Sr adds, 바카라You can see the results. The other reason why he got his confidence back was Mumbai Indians picking him. Mahela Jayawardene, in particular, showed faith in him. He also got freedom from the team management, which I feel is also the case with the current Indian team.바카라Â Â
Sadly, Surya바카라s diet means his mother can바카라t employ her 360-degree culinary skills when he visits. Â
바카라He doesn바카라t have a morsel of sweet,바카라 says Ashok Yadav.
If he could, what would he like to eat?
바카라Anything and everything in ghee,바카라 Yadav Sr says.  Â
When asked what the family thinks of Suryakumar바카라s nickname SKY, his father says, 바카라Actually, we call him Lalu at home. You know how it is sometimes, we just assign a common, cutesy name to a kid. Like Lalu or Bobby.바카라
Thursday won바카라t be child바카라s play, though.
바카라We just wish our team and Surya all the best,바카라 Ashok Yadav says. 바카라It바카라s been 15 years since we won the T20 World Cup. I hope India win again.바카라
