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.
“Nowadays, he (Suryakumar) doesn’t become nervous, so we don’t either,” laughs Yadav Sr, chief engineer at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC), when Outlook asks if the family had elaborate plans for the semis. “I 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 doesn’t watch the match.”
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.
“I’ve been living here since 1989, and Surya spent nearly 26 years of his life here till he moved out in 2016,” says Yadav Sr. “This 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.”
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.
“Even after performing in the IPL, he wasn’t getting the [India] chance,” says Yadav Sr. “I would tell him, ‘Don’t worry. Today or tomorrow you will get selected’. We would speak about Mike Hussey. He was 30-plus when he made his debut, and he became Mr Cricket for Australia.”
This approach liberated Surya. “He got his debut very late (March 2021). Now he has nothing to lose [and is able to play freely],” says Papa Yadav. With a guffaw, of course.
Going on a diet, and the faith showed in him by Mumbai Indians, further helped Surya’s confidence, his father says.
“Around 2015 or so he gained so much weight. And there also were some consistency issues,” Yadav Sr says. “His 2016 IPL season wasn’t good. Even In Ranji Trophy, some of the matches didn’t 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, ‘Your colleagues are playing at the highest level, why not you?’. He had a moment of realisation there, and he became serious about his diet and worked on his fitness and game.”
Yadav Sr adds, “You 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.”
Sadly, Surya’s diet means his mother can’t employ her 360-degree culinary skills when he visits.
“He doesn’t have a morsel of sweet,” says Ashok Yadav.
If he could, what would he like to eat?
“Anything and everything in ghee,” Yadav Sr says.
When asked what the family thinks of Suryakumar’s nickname SKY, his father says, “Actually, 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.”
Thursday won’t be child’s play, though.
“We just wish our team and Surya all the best,” Ashok Yadav says. “It’s been 15 years since we won the T20 World Cup. I hope India win again.”
