Captain Suryakumar believes in allowing freedom of expression

The ongoing T20 World Cup could be Suryakumar Yadav’s last as India skipper and the 35-year-old cherishes every moment of his assignment.

While sharing his captaincy experience, Surya said that he sticks to the mantra of focussing on the team’s performance instead of personal feats. “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. It’s a team game, and we have to contribute accordingly,” he said.

Suryakumar said he never believed in acting like a “big brother” to other players. “After taking command, I realised no one is going to listen to me if I act like a big brother to them. It’s better to let them enjoy. There is no point in holding on to them. You have to leave them open. Only then you can get the best from them,” he said.

When asked if he found his predecessor Rohit Sharma’s boots too big to fill, he replied, “Shoes are mine, I only follow his footsteps. 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 him. 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.”