"I went alone to the beach" - How Suryakumar Yadav dealt with Australia tour snub

After almost three months, Suryakumar Yadav has opened up about the aftermath of his non-selection in India's white-ball squads to Australia.

The 30-year-old has recalled how a quiet walk on the beach and support from his Mumbai Indians teammates helped him move on from the disappointment.

Even after setting the IPL on fire with a string of match-winning performances, Suryakumar Yadav was snubbed from India T20I squad for the three-match series down under.

The decision raised eyebrows also because other middle-order batsmen like Sanju Samson and Shreyas Iyer were given the nod despite scoring fewer runs in the IPL 2020 at the time of selection.

Interacting with India Today, Suryakumar Yadav reminisced about giving himself the time to contemplate his future plans while not overlooking the remaining IPL matches.

"I actually went alone to the beach for the walk. I told my wife I would be back in an hour. I wanted to think, actually plan out how I would go about it in the next few matches because we had some important matches coming up in the IPL. It was important for me to turn up and win games for our team. I just said 'give me some time, I will just go for a walk alone and come back, you will see a wide smile on my face'," said Suryakumar Yadav.

The feeling is surreal🇮🇳🧿❤️ pic.twitter.com/RccRbyYpx4

— Surya Kumar Yadav (@surya_14kumar) February 21, 2021

Suryakumar Yadav's consistency didn't waver after the squad snub and he concluded the IPL 2020 as MI's third highest scorer.

Overall, in 15 innings, he heaped 480 runs at a brilliant average of 40 and a strike rate of over 145.

Many MI players came up to me and asked me to keep working hard: Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav in action

Remembering the support from teammates in MI, Suryakumar Yadav said many players came in support and extolled him to be patient.

"And when I came back to the (Mumbai Indians) team room, there were a lot of players sitting there and they actually came up to me and asked me to keep working hard and wait for the right time and opportunity. They told me it would come my way."

Suryakumar Yadav's hard work and determination have finally paid off as the Mumbaikar was roped in India's 19-man squad for the 5-match T20I series against England. He has even commemorated the maiden call-up with a blistering 33-ball half-century in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Ahmedabad's Motera Stadium will host all the shortest-format matches, starting on March 12.

Heartiest congratulations @ishankishan51, @rahultewatia02 & @surya_14kumar for your maiden call up to the Indian Team, and also to @chakaravarthy29, who missed out in Australia.Playing for 🇮🇳 is the highest honour for any cricketer. Wishing you all a lot of success.

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) February 21, 2021