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Ahead of Mumbai Indians’ (MI) crucial Indian Premier League (IPL) clash against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB), star batter Suryakumar Yadav has opened up about his arduous rehabilitation journey after sustaining multiple injuries last December.

Yadav, who missed the first three matches of MI’s IPL campaign, made his return against Delhi Capitals but was dismissed for a duck. However, he is determined to make an impact against RCB, a match that pits two of Indian cricket’s biggest superstars, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, against each other.

Speaking in a video released by the IPL’s official X (formerly Twitter) handle, Yadav revealed that he was battling three niggles simultaneously: an ankle injury, a sports hernia, and an injury to his right knee. “It was difficult, the first two-three weeks, because I felt it was very boring doing the same things again and again in the rehab,” he said.

However, Yadav realized the importance of rehabilitation and made significant lifestyle changes to aid his recovery. He started sleeping on time, followed a strict diet, and even picked up reading, something he had never done before.

“I had never read a book in my life and I started doing that as well. Getting up in the morning, spending a good quality time at the rehab center and focusing on everything, connecting myself, my brain and my body with the rehab and it helped me well to recover a little faster,” he said.

Yadav also credited the staff at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) for their support during his rehabilitation. “When I spoke to my wife and all the people at NCA, they said it has to be a second version of yourself, you have to be a little different when you come back on the field,” he said.

The 32-year-old is eager to make a positive contribution to MI’s campaign and is excited to be back at his home ground, the Wankhede Stadium. “My whole cricketing journey started from here and when I entered the hotel and the ground, it never felt (like) that I (had) left this place,” he said.