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Tattoo warrior Suryakumar Yadav happy to wear emotions on his arm
Staying calm has helped Suryakumar Yadav, but so has inking his body.
Suryakumar Yadav prefers playing on the on-side but isn’t scared of being found out. He was said to have an ‘attitude problem’ that ultimately led to his resignation as the Mumbai Ranji captain last season. But switching to IPL, Yadav has been elevated to No 4 in the batting line-up of defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders.
Staying calm has helped, but so has inking his body.
If a ‘Life is what you make it’ tattoo on his left arm reminds the 24-year-old of how every day is important, the ‘One step at a time’ tattoo on his left leg gets him to focus on the immediate future.
While domestic cricketers are ready to give an arm and leg to be part of an IPL side, Yadav has dedicated an arm to his parents. His story has an IPL link too but what stands out is his love for mum and dad who have supported his bid to become a cricketer, having had nothing to do with the game.
The only son to Ashok and Sapna, Yadav decided it was the best way of thanking them. He started with an ambigram tattoo of his parents’ names on his right arm. “When I got selected for KKR, I put their names in ambigram form. So, from one side it reads Ashok but it reads Sapna from the other,” he said here on Monday.
Yadav’s abilities as a finisher came through in the opening game win over his former side, Mumbai Indians.
“The same day I got the tattoo, I had made up my mind to ink my parents’ faces on my arm if we win the tournament,” he said. And he kept his promise, proudly displaying the result on his upper arm.
