Indian cricket fans finally saw the real Suryakumar Yadav again, and the change didn’t come from practice or the dressing room, but from home. After a long, tough phase, India’s T20 captain found his rhythm back in Raipur, all thanks to simple advice from his wife, Devisha Shetty.
Suryakumar Yadav finds his rhythm with wife’s advice
Suryakumar Yadav had been struggling for runs for a long time. Even though the stylish batter was batting well in the nets, he was not able to score runs in the blues. Given that, his confidence was low, pressure was high, and every game put his place in the team under scrutiny.
However, the Indian captain somehow found a way to return among runs. Instead of forcing his shots, Suryakumar slowed down mentally, stayed away from social media, rested well, and trusted his wife’s advice to take his time while batting.
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The results were clear in the second T20I against the Black Caps in Raipur. The Men in Blue were chasing 210 against New Zealand when things went wrong immediately. Sanju Samson got out for just six runs, and Abhishek Sharma was dismissed for a golden duck.
Masterclass in Raipur: 82 off 37 balls ends long wait
India were 6/2 in just 1.1 overs, and they were feeling the pressure, but Suryakumar managed to turn things around. He didn’t try to hit everything from the start. He stayed calm, focused on each ball, and built his innings slowly, and this helped India bounce back in the game.
Ishan Kishan (76 off 32 balls) played at the other end, attacking the bowlers and keeping the score moving. Suryakumar and Kishan added 122 runs in just 48 balls for the third wicket. This partnership helped India beat New Zealand by seven wickets in the second T20I in Raipur, where Suryakumar scored only 11 runs in his first 11 balls, but he started hitting freely after settling.
He reached his half-century in just 23 balls. At the end, the Indian captain played a brilliant knock of 82 runs off just 37 balls, hitting nine fours and four sixes. This was Suryakumar’s first T20I fifty in 468 days, ending a 24-innings wait. His last fifty had come in October 2024.
She keeps asking me to take some time: Suryakumar Yadav on wife’s advice
After India’s dominating victory in Raipur, the right-handed batter opened up about his knock as questions were continuously raised over his form as the T20 World Cup 2025 is just weeks away.
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Suryakumar said in a video posted by BCCI on Instagram, “Sometimes it happens. When we go home, we have a coach sitting at my home too. The one you are married to. She keeps asking me to take some time. She has seen me from the closest, so she knows my mind too. So, I took her advice and played carefully, thinking about taking some time in my innings. I did that in the last match and this match too.”
The Indian captain added, “I have been telling people that I have been batting nicely in the nets. But until you score in the matches, you don’t feel that confidence. I got some good 2–3 days of rest, went home, and cut myself completely from social media. I practiced well in the last three weeks, so I got myself in the perfect mindset.”
