MI batsman Suryakumar Yadav talks about Virat Kohli sledging him in IPL 2020 match

Mumbai Indians batsman Suryakumar Yadav was arguably one of the best performers of the team in the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League and his impressive show even managed to get him a place in India’s T20I International series against England last year.

A sledging incident involving Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli which happened in UAE’s Abu Dhabi during one of the league matches between Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore made headlines last year after a video of the event went viral on social media. While Kohli attempted to break Suryakumar’s composure and get him out, the latter maintained his cool and even went on to win the game for the team. Opening up about the incident, Suryakumar Yadav has now reportedly said, “It’s not just me, he goes hard at any batsman batting against him. I was happy that he sledged me. It means even Kohli knew that if I bat on, we will win the match and if they got my wicket, then maybe they could slow us down and create a chance to win.”

“I am a cool and calm customer on the pitch, so I don’t get into these rivalries. But there was that moment in Abu Dhabi, so I guess that can go down as one. After the match he was just normal. He said, ‘well played’ to everybody afterwards. It was just in that moment (his staring incident with Virat Kohli). He also knew at that situation who was the key player in the opposition,” the MI batsman added.