Suryakumar Ashok Yadav, a well-known Indian cricketer, plays for Indian ODI and T20I formats. He is also nicknamed SKY by his fans. He plays for Mumbai Indians, his native city, with a team in the Indian Premier League. He made 303 runs in IPL 2022 for Mumbai Indians.

He is a flexible right-handed batsman who also brings into play right-arm for a medium rate from time to time, including spin bowling. His debut for Twenty20 international cricket for the Indian team opposing England on March 14 the year of 2021. Surya Kumar made his debut for his One Day International (ODI) for India on July 18 the year of 2021, opposing Sri Lanka.

Early Life:

From his childhood, Yadav showed his interest in cricket and badminton. His dad Ashok Kumar Yadav transferred to Mumbai from Ghazipur for his electrical designer job at BARC. Yadav used to play in the streets and improved his skills in cricket. When Yadav was 10 years old, his father learned about his interests and developments in the game and listed him in a cricket camp in the BARC colony, Anushakti Nagar.

Personal Life:

His schooling happened at Atomic Energy Central School in Mumbai. He follows Hinduism, and he is a non-vegetarian. Sources say that he has a political inclination towards Bharatiya Janata Party. His hobbies seem to be gymming, golfing, swimming and reading. His favourite cricketers are Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid, Zaheer Khan and Wasim Akram. His favorite cricket ground is Eden Gardens, situated in Kolkata.

Career:

Suryakumar Yadav started his career with the debut of the Ranji trophy 2010-11, opposing Delhi. His debut was the first class of his career because of his performance with a high score from Mumbai with a good assembly of 73, and he was the one and only player to make a half-century in Mumbai's first innings. From onwards, he has been a fixed member of the side.

In the year 2018 of October, his name got placed in India's C team for the 2019 Trophy of Deodhar. Then October 2019, he was labelled in the India C squad for the 2020 Trophy of Deodhar.

In his whole first series against England, Suryakumar Yadav showed his class. In the second match of the series in February, Suryakumar Yadav made 57 runs off 31 balls with six fours and three sixes. His 28-ball fifty, studded with great strokes, made him a moment hit. Indeed, even in ODIs, he showed his grit by enrolling twofold digit scores in every one of the games that he has played. His normal of 54 average in ODIs and a striking pace of 155 in Twenty20 Internationals is a great beginning.

Entry into IPL:

His first IPL entry was with an IPL contract with Mumbai Indians. He was unfortunately dismissed from the season after a match. Later, in the auctions, Kolkata Knight Riders contracted with him in 2014. In 2015, he performed well with 46 runs in 20 balls and five sixes at Eden Gardens with the Mumbai team and made headlines. Because of his performance at IPL, he was made vice-captain of the team. After becoming vice-captain, he started playing regularly for the team. Mumbai Indians paid him three and a half crores in IPL auctions to bring him into their team. Since he performed well in the match, the IPL auction decided to buy him for eight crores.

Surya played against Delhi for his first debut in 2011 for the Ranji trophy, and he kick-started his career playing against Mumbai. He scored fifty in his first match. From then, he started playing as a regular player in the team. He used to score consistently well in all the matches. He performed well in the Mumbai team later on.

IPL through the Years:

Suryakumar Yadav is an ideal fit for the T20 format in cricket. His words, "I always wanted to be a bit different, "give insight into his innovative thoughts on batting. Suryakumar Yadav is a right-handed batsman from Mumbai and is very talented. He signed an IPL contract in 2011 for Mumbai Indians and played some matches for the team until 2013. He, later on, signed a contract for Kolkata Knight Riders.

He gained quite some popularity for his improvisation ability when he started playing for the Kolkata Knight Riders. The art of playing some unique and useful cameos from down the order was very useful to the team, and he featured in every match in 2014 as the Kolkata Knight Riders won the championship. A few seasons later, even though he made some honourable contributions to the team, he needed opportunities which were very few to make an impact.

International Cricket Career:

His first international call to the India cricket team happened in February 2021. He got a place in the Twenty20 International squad (T20I) for the tournament against England cricket. On 14 March 2021, he played his debut match against England in T20 International but got his first opportunity to bat on March 18 in the series' fourth game. Later, he scored six of the first ball he played in International cricket and became the first Indian cricketer to wear that badge in T20 International. He played good enough to score a half-century in his first international match. The following day, his name was announced in the One day International (ODI) squad for the tournament against England. The India team captain described Surya Kumar Yadav as an 'X Factor' player for his game-changing performances at No.3.

He finally got his place in India's One Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) squads for the series with Sri Lanka. On July 18 2021, for India against Sri Lanka, he played his first One Day International (ODI) match. Surya Kumar Yadav scored his first half-century in ODI against Sri Lanka on July 21 2021.

Suryakumar Yadav has been called the substitute for India's Test team for a series against England in July 2021. Later in September 2021, he got a place secured in India's squad for the 2021 ICC Men's T20 World Cup. Then in November, India's Test Squad named him for the Test Series against New Zealand.

Later, T20 International squad added Surya Kumar Yadav to the team for the T20 series against Ireland in June 2022.