'Be Yourself and Trust the Process': Suryakumar Yadav's Words of Wisdom to India U19 Men's Team

The India U-19 boys on Friday received invaluable cricketing lessons from swashbuckling batter Suryakumar Yadav who exhorted the youngsters to embrace their unique skills, unite as a team, and focus more on process as they march ahead to fulfil their aspirations.

The 33-year-old, who has been appointed India’s T20I captain following the retirement of Rohit Sharma from the game’s shortest format, interacted with the U-19 cricketers at the National Cricket Academy here ahead of their series against Australia beginning September 21.

“The India Under-19 Boys had an unforgettable experience interacting with India T20 International Captain Surya Kumar Yadav on the sidelines of their camp at the National Cricket Academy as part of their preparations for the series against Australia Under-19 boys,” the BCCI posted on X.

An NCA source said Surya told the boys to embrace “your unique skills and trust the process.”

“‘Be yourself always. Each one of you has a rare skill. Bring it on the table as one. Focus more on process and routines and result will be taken care of’, this is what Surya told the boys,” the NCA source told PTI.

The squad also features Samit Dravid, the son of former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid.

The 18-year-old recently played for Mysuru Warriors in the Maharaja T20 Trophy, scoring 82 runs from seven innings at an average of 11.71 and a strike rate of 113.88, with his highest score being 33 against Gulbarga Mystics.

Uttar Pradesh’s Mohamed Amaan will captain the one-day squad, while Soham Patwardhan will lead the team in the four-day matches.

India U-19 will take on Australia U-19 in three 50-over games on September 21, 23 and 26 in Puducherry followed by two four-day matches in Chennai beginning from September 30.