Manchester United great Ole Gunnar Solskjaer began his India journey in Bengaluru where among the many things he did was meet India's T20 star Suryakumar Yadav. Solskjaer and Suryakumar both attended an event in the city and the pair spent some time interacting with each other as well.
Suryakumar is currently out of action, having undergone two surgeries in December and January. The 33-year-old, who tops the T20I rankings for batters, first had a surgery for an ankle injury he sustained in India's tour of South Africa in December. He then had another surgery on his groin for a sports hernia which had grown worse with time and required medical intervention.
Suryakumar explained his injuries to Solskjaer and said that he had been on the road due to cricket for nearly one and a half years without a break before that. "Sometimes you need that time off just to refresh your head and go again," Solskjaer could be heard telling the India batter.
The pair then posed for a photo-op with Solskajer holding up Suryakumar's India jersey and the latter holding a Manchester United shirt. “Enjoy it as long as you can,” Solskjaer told Suryakumar about being an active sportsperson as the pair bid goodbye. “It is always best when you are active. Don't retire too early,” said the Norwegian.
'Got at least one club job in me'
Solskjaer is an iconic figure in Manchester United's history, having famously scored the winning goal in the last seconds of the 1999 Champions League final that confirmed a rare treble of the European Cup, Premier League and FA Cup wins for the club in that season. United were the first English side to have won all three trophies in the same season and the only ones as well until cross-town rivals Manchester City repeated the feat in 2023.
{{/usCountry}}Solskjaer is an iconic figure in Manchester United's history, having famously scored the winning goal in the last seconds of the 1999 Champions League final that confirmed a rare treble of the European Cup, Premier League and FA Cup wins for the club in that season. United were the first English side to have won all three trophies in the same season and the only ones as well until cross-town rivals Manchester City repeated the feat in 2023.
{{/usCountry}}Solskjaer returned to the club as manager in the 2018/19 season and led the team till he was sacked in November 2022 after the club slumped to heavy defeats against arch-rivals Liverpool, neighbours City and Watford. The Norwegian said that he is looking to get back to management, having not taken up another job since leaving United. "I've got at least one club job in me. It has to be an interesting one, somewhere, an adventure, somewhere, I can be myself. No disrespect, but after you've managed Manchester United for three years, it's like, where do you go?
"Yeah, of course, I want to feel that pressure again. You know, when you see the games, you miss it," Solskjaer told a select media gathering on Friday.