Suryakumar Yadav: ‘Age Is Not a Deadline, Preparation Is’ — From Domestic Struggles to India’s World Cup Glory

Suryakumar Yadav’s rise to the top of Indian cricket did not happen overnight. Long before he became one of India’s most recognisable T20 batters and a World Cup-winning captain, he spent years travelling through the domestic circuit with his kit bag, waiting for his opportunity.

For SKY, that journey carries a message that extends beyond cricket: success does not always come according to a fixed timeline.

“Age is not a deadline; your preparation is,” Suryakumar said in an exclusive conversation with IANS on National Sports Day, urging young athletes not to measure their progress against someone else’s career.

The 35-year-old, who has already experienced the high of winning two T20 World Cups, including India’s 2026 triumph under his captaincy, believes persistence and preparation matter more than the age at which an athlete breaks through.

Reflecting on his own career, Suryakumar recalled the years when he travelled by bus and train for domestic matches, carrying his kit and continuing to wait for his chance at the international level. He said youngsters should focus on developing their skills rather than worrying about whether they are succeeding early enough.

In a country where young athletes are often told to pursue conventional careers instead of sport, Suryakumar believes the mindset is gradually changing. He pointed to the growing sporting infrastructure and initiatives such as Khelo India, Fit India and TOPS as signs that athletes today have access to opportunities that were not available to many of their predecessors.

“When I started playing cricket, there was very little infrastructure, so the opportunities were very limited,” he said. “Today, whether a kid is from a small town or a big city, they can find a ground, a coach, and now funding as well.”

He also stressed that cricket’s popularity gives cricketers an opportunity to help bring attention to other sports. According to Suryakumar, even a simple social media post by a prominent cricketer can introduce another sport or athlete to millions of people.

“We are all Team India first,” he said, arguing that cricketers should actively support athletes from other disciplines who are working to make the country proud.

Suryakumar also sees cricket’s inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics as an important milestone for the sport. Cricket is returning to the Olympic programme after 128 years, and the Indian batter believes the exposure could help the game expand into more countries.

For him, an Olympic medal would also carry a different kind of significance because it would place cricketers alongside athletes from India’s other sporting disciplines on the same global stage.

“We get to stand on the podium for India alongside athletes from different sports,” he said, recalling his experience of sharing the Games Village with Indian athletes during the Asian Games.

The conversation inevitably returned to the World Cup triumph, which Suryakumar described as the best moment of his career so far. He said the achievement was not just the culmination of his own efforts but also belonged to the coaches, friends and family members who supported him throughout the difficult years.

“When you finally lift the World Cup, it is not just your journey,” he said.

Yet, despite everything he has achieved, Suryakumar does not believe he has reached the end of his story. With cricket set to feature at the 2028 Olympics and another T20 World Cup scheduled for the same year, he is already looking ahead.

His journey from carrying a kit bag on domestic train and bus journeys to lifting the World Cup offers a wider lesson for young athletes: the path to success can be long, uncertain and unpredictable, but being late is not the same as being finished.

For Suryakumar Yadav, the clock is not what defines an athlete. The work put in when nobody is watching does.

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