It took Suryakumar Yadav roughly six months into his India captaincy to understand that trying to be a “father figure” or “elder brother” to younger members of the team won’t work. The Mumbai man realised that the only thing which would work is allowing a free-flowing exchange of ideas, freedom of expression and letting every flower bloom in its own way. With liberal help from coach Gautam Gambhir, who believes that 7-ball-21s should be celebrated as much as a hundred, Surya decided that while he would “follow the footsteps of Rohit Sharma”, the “shoes will be his own”.
Asked about the atmosphere of the change-room and what kind of advice does he give the youngsters, Surya replied : “They don’t let me talk much in the dressing room. They dictate their own terms. So, I have seen that when they get freedom, they become a different character on the ground.
“I started to relate to this team after 5-6 months (of captaincy). After that, I understood that there is no point in being a big brother or a father. You have to leave them.
“There is no point in holding on to them. You have to leave them open. Only then you can get the best from them,” Surya crisply outlined his leadership philosophy. He understood that team is like a bouquet where every beautiful flower has its own pride of place.
“Every player has different skills and strengths. It’s not that I haven’t said anything to anyone. I have spoken to the players. But those who feel that I have left them, that percentage has increased from the start till now. So, I haven’t said much to anyone,” he said in jest.
While March 8 will be the biggest day in Surya’s career, the best part of him was that he didn’t lose out on his humorous side.
When asked if he found his predecessor Rohit Sharma’s boots too big to fill, he cheekily replied: “Joota mera hi hai, footsteps unke hain. (Sir, shoes are mine, I only follow his footsteps)” On a serious note, he spoke about the nuggets that he picked from Rohit’s leadership.
“The way, where he left, I got to learn a lot of things from him when I was playing under him. So, I also followed the same strategy, same fundamentals.
“I played a lot of cricket with Rohit. I know how he worked. So, I tried to implement the same things with a few thoughts of mine as well. And it’s worked really well,” he said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article
Source link
[ad_3]
