'You just need to curtail a few strokes and just be yourself' - Suryakumar Yadav reveals Dravid's advice upon their first interaction

This year, Suryakumar Yadav has established himself as a phenomenon in T20 international cricket and other forms of white-ball cricket. Suryakumar has been with the Indian squad for a while, but his international career really took off when Rahul Dravid took over as head coach of the team.

During one of their first encounters after Dravid joined the Indian setup, Suryakumar claimed that Dravid, who is regarded as one of the best batters of all time, had insightful advice to share with him. Leading the Indian squad in their home series against New Zealand was Dravid's first challenge after taking over as head coach in November of last year. Prior to the series' opening Test in Kanpur, Suryakumar revealed his interaction with Dravid.

“During the Kanpur Test I was batting in the nets and he (Dravid) said, ‘You are looking good, you just need to curtail a few strokes and just be yourself’. At the end of the day, it’s about scoring runs in this format as well. He told me to just keep things simple and enjoy what you are doing,” Suryakumar told Hindustan Times.

Suryakumar, who scored 1,164 runs in 31 games at a strike rate of 187.43 thanks to two centuries and nine half-centuries, has the most runs in T20Is this season. Though the 32-year-old is yet to make his Test debut, it has been a fruitful year for him as he grabbed the second spot for scoring the most runs in a calendar year in T20Is.

“It’s the fruits of all the hard work I have put in over the last 10-15 years…all the sacrifices that my family and I have made together. I’m just enjoying the fruits right now and very happy to stay in this space,” Suryakumar added.

I first got recognition because of my performances in red-ball cricket: Yadav

Suryakumar has occasionally been a member of the Indian Test squad and has participated in games as a replacement fielder, although he has never really made his way into the starting lineup. There are high chances of him making his Test debut soon. Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri dubbed him an all-format player, and Suryakumar Yadav is not very far from actually becoming that.

“I have got runs in this format as well (in first-class cricket). I enjoy batting in this format. I still remember him (Shastri) saying, ‘I was an all-format player’. So it feels really good to hear something like that from someone of his stature. I first got recognition because of my performances in red-ball cricket. So, this format (four-day) is very close to my heart,” he concluded.