Suryakumar on his infamous altercation with Virat Kohli: I was dead scared when he walked up to me
India Today
Suryakumar Yadav won the game for Mumbai Indians under huge pressure from Virat Kohli’s RCB. The highlight of the game was Suryakumar Yadav standing his ground against the superstar opposition captain.
Suryakumar Yadav has put himself as the prime contender for the top order of the Indian national team ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia. But that was not always the case, as performance after performance in the Indian Premier League or the domestic circuit fell to the deaf ears of the selectors.
A turning point came in Surya's career when he produced a chase masterclass against Virat Kohli’s Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2020 season of the IPL, which is now infamous for the standoff between him and Virat Kohli.
Speaking about the incident in Gaurav Kapoor’s Breakfast With Champions, the right-hander revealed for the first time how exactly it felt when an animated Kohli walked up to him.
"...His sledging was on another level in that match. And I was focused that whatever happens, I have to win the match for the team, without speaking anything," the Mumbai batter said about the incident.
Revealing that he was horribly scared inside but had to maintain a calm demeanour in the game, he stated that his heart was racing at that point.
"I was dead scared inside when he walked towards me, I was chewing gum and my heart was racing. There was an inner voice that was telling me - whatever happens, don’t say a word, it's a matter of 10 seconds, this will be over soon and the next over will begin,” Surya went on with his story.
He said that for some reason his bat fell on the ground and he was finally able to remove eye contact to pick up the bat. He stated that he did not look in Kohli’s eye for that entire period of the game ever again.
