'Method in the madness' - How did Suryakumar Yadav prepare himself for T20 World Cup in Australia

India’s middle-order batter Suryakumar Yadav has been in the form of his life. He is peaking at the right moment and played a very crucial role in taking India into the semi-final of the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022. India now faces England, the team against whom Suryakumar Yadav notched up his maiden T20I ton, in their semi-final encounter at the Adelaide Oval on November 10, 2022.

Suryakumar Yadav accomplished many milestones recently. He is currently the top run scorer across the globe in T20Is this year, he was the second-highest run-scorer in the Super 12 stage of the tournament, after Virat Kohli, and he also rose to the No. 1 rank in ICC’s latest T20I batter’s rankings and overtook Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan.

His journey this year has been tremendous, but the hard-work that has gone behind the journey is known to very few. Renowned sports journalist Makarand Waingankar shared a series of tweets explaining Suryakumar Yadav’s road to success and preparation for the T20 World Cup, as he wrote:

“I doubt any Mumbai sports journalist watched how Surya Yadav prepared for the WC. He requested Parsi Gymkhana cricket secretary Khodadad for green top bouncy pitch. He would get his sidearm specialist & Gymkhana coach former Mumbai opener Vinayak Mane would invite different type of bowlers.”

“In 4 hour practice session Surya and Vinoo Mane would create match simulations and put more emphasis on perfecting strokes. Surya was all ears when Vinoo spoke. When I watched from the first floor of the pavilion it was a method in madness but the way these guys planned meticulously and executed perfectly it was fantastic. So you know the secret beyond the success of Surya Yadav. Keep pressing accelerator, Surya. Thanks Vinoo Mane for your efforts,” he further wrote.

India played all the five games of the Super 12 stage and won four out of them to end on top of the points table. Suryakumar Yadav was terrific against the Netherlands, South Africa, and Zimbabwe where he registered scores of 51*, 68, and 61*. He will be expected to perform in a similar fashion against England as the two teams meet for the crucial semi-final fixture with an aim to play at the MCG on November 13 at the summit-clash.