Things have been a little difficult after the T20 World Cup: Suryakumar Yadav

For someone who led India to the T20 World Cup title earlier this year, the months that followed have not been easy. Suryakumar Yadav has found himself away from the national team reckoning, a difficult phase for a cricketer who had scaled the highest peak in the shortest format.

But he is not shying away from acknowledging the challenge. “Things have been a little difficult after the T20 World Cup. I don’t want to run away from that fact. If you are not honest with yourself, it is very difficult to lead a happy life.

So, it has been very difficult,” Suryakumar said at the T20 Mumbai ‘Celebrating the Champions’ event on Tuesday, where a new team from Navi Mumbai was launched. The birth of his daughter in May, during the IPL, brought a welcome change.

“The last few months, since she was born, have been very beautiful,” he said. A conversation with his wife also helped Suryakumar rediscover the love and passion he had as a 15-year-old aspiring to represent Mumbai. “She felt I needed to bring back the love and passion for the game that I had when I was a kid who wanted to represent Mumbai in the under-15 cricket team,” Suryakumar said.

As he gears up to lead Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, beginning on Saturday, Suryakumar has a clear aim. “The main goal is what I used to think about earlier: win games for Mumbai and win the championship for Mumbai,” he said.

He also had a message for youngsters increasingly drawn towards the IPL. “I feel the end goal, or even the first goal, should never be to think about playing in the IPL. Everyone dreams of playing for India,” he said, emphasising the importance of progressing through age-group and domestic cricket.