The Turning Point In SKY's IPL Career...

Ahead of the Qualifier 2 match against Gujarat Titans, Mumbai Indians star Suryakumar Yadav talked about the turning point in his career.

'When I returned to Mumbai Indians in 2018, it felt like I returned back to my family, they trusted me a lot, and gave me the opportunity to bat up the order and it was a big turning point.

'I scored runs in 2018 and my role changed from next year. Then I came to know that my role is going to be this with the team,' SKY told Jio Cinema.

'They gave me clarity in my role, and trusted me. It was time I paid them back and took my game to the next level. I tried to take my game to the next level, and practised. They travelled 2 steps, I did 4. The bond is strong,' he added.

Talking about the MI as a franchise, SKY said, 'This franchise will give you everything that helps you become a better player. Be it practice facilities, or mental support. It is almost like your home. You just have to put 1 per cent effort, 99 per cent is coming from the franchise.'

About his 360 degree batting that Virat Kohli once compared to batting in a video game, SKY said: 'When I go back and watch my innings, it doesn't look llike a video game to me, it looks like normal batting to me because I have always batted in this fashion.'

'Even when I used to play tennis ball or rubber ball cricket with my friends I used to play the same way because sometimes the boundary used to be long on one side while sometimes I used to get runs behind the 'keeper.

'So I learnt to play these shots at that time. I'm just trying to replicate those shots in my game now.'

SKY is currently the eighth highest run-scorer in IPL 2023. In 14 matches, he has scored 511 runs at an average of 42.58 and a strike rate of 185.58.

He has scored a century and four fifties, with the best score of 103*.

In 48 matches and 46 innings for India, he has scored 1,675 runs at an average of 46.52 and a strike rate of 175.76 with three centuries and 13 fifties.

He was given the ICC Male T20I Player of the Year Award 2022 for his performances in the shorter format.

• IPL 2023