Pipe down! - Bro this is...
- It looks like a wedding setup. Bring out the Paneer tikkas. If you could have anything on the menu
what would your cheat meal be? Yeah, I would start with Vada-Pav,
at least 2-3... - Then lunch has to be Pav-Bhaaji.
- Smothered with butter. Yeah and with onions on top.
And then Chinese for dinner. But the roadside one that's made in front of you,
where you see the rice flying into the air. It's always triple schezwan, because
you get the most items in it... Omelette, chicken, rice bowl,
with an omelette on it. - It's basically a full buffet.
- Yes, triple schezwan rice. - You don't get this anywhere but...
- But Bombay! Nowhere else. They say the sky is the limit... But according to me, this
SKY has no limit He may have arrived late on the international
stage, but what an entry he's had! And on my show, Surya's story
will see its sunrise... On Skoda presents,
Breakfast with Champions To prove to you how big a fan I am,
look at the colour of my shirt. - Blue.
- Sky blue, not just any blue... 'SKY' blue. I prepared this joke at home... Just this one joke, I can't
do more than that. If you're called SKY, then we
have to make SKY jokes... I found out about this name much later,
I hadn't paid much attention to it... In 2014, when I was with KKR,
Gauti (Gambhir) Bhai began calling me SKY... When I didn't respond, he came and said,
"Bro, I'm calling you only". "Look at your initials"
And then I realised that it's SKY. Gautam is good that way right, he
made you realise a lot of things... The juicer, mixer, grinder
of Surya's talent is Gautam. In Indian cricket, be it senior
players, captains or management... Was he the first proper
believer in your talent? You can say that, because when I
went from MI to KKR in 2014, he thought... "If I see something in him and if I
guide him, he'll go on the right track". -Did you ever get scolded by GG?
- Oh yes, many times. The audio levels of his scoldings
and compliments are the same. Yeah, it's the same. "What are you up to!" or "Bro, you killed it".
He says both in the same way. "What are you upto, what've you done.
You've done really well, can't can be better". His main thing was to convey the
message, irrespective of the tone. Tone is up to interpretation. Then you came from there to
your 2nd mentor, Rohit (Sharma)... But youngsters have to call him Rohit Bhai,
He's a senior so they need to show respect. But he himself says, "What's with this
bhai, bhai. Just call me Rohit". When I made my domestic debut in the Ranji
Trophy in 2010-11, he was batting with me. Since then, his playing attitude and how he
motivates players has remained the same. If I shut my eyes and think about him,
I'm transported back to that 2010-11 game... When I made my debut. Who are your friends in the MI team? - Right now I'm closest to Ishan (Kishan).
- He's very funny right? Yeah, you have to have him around.
Doesn't matter if you've won or lost. If you've lost then you need to have him
around, his vibe is just different. His topics bounce like signal does,
he can start up a conversation out of anything. He'll suddenly say, "You remember when
this had happened in New Zealand... Did you come with us for the
West Indies series?" That's how he is. Too much fun. I've told the trainer that
my sessions should be with him. If there's any sponsor commitment,
I want him around me. If we go into bat together,
we don't even talk about cricket. We don't even look at the
scoreboard, unless we're chasing... We talk about random things on the ground...
"Tonight, we'll go back and eat this". "If we win the game, then chocolate
brownies and ice-cream is a must". But, it's fun. Why are all keepers such characters?
Is Rishabh (Pant) any less? He's incredible,
when these two are together... I've spent a lot of time with them
in the past 7 months... When they are together, it's out of control.
Trust me, it's out of control... The two of them can talk about anything
and can eat anything too. They can dip a bun in
ice-cream and eat it. -Really?
- They put chocolate ice-cream on bread... Then put Nandos sauce on that. Only
thing left was to put a piece of chicken. This is the combination,
which in their eyes is a burger. They tell me, "Eat it, you'll score runs
tomorrow", it's a new thing they've started. - Pasta ka Vaasta.
- That's how low they would stoop for food. The two are unreal, clean hearts,
complete pure souls... You'll have a lot of fun
spending time with them. Rishabh's chatter... I tell the commentators
that when he's in the middle... - You should just put down the mic.
- It's classic, he's too good while keeping. The way he moves fielders as well,
let's say I'm standing in the deep... He'll ask me to move 20 cm, but
he'll keep moving his hands like this... Sometimes he does this, I ask him ,
'Where do you want me to go?' He says, "Nowhere... was getting bored,
remain where you are". He's like the traffic police... He does stuff like this...
What does that even mean?? He's calling me ahead, sending me back,
to the side, everywhere.. During drinks break, I ask him,
"What's going on?" He says, "What's the issue,
just stand there". Incredible, just incredible. Recently in England, I was on for Pujju Bhai
(Pujara) and fielding at silly point... I'm thinking, "It's my first time
on the field wearing whites..." I'm right in front of him, the situation in the game
is incredibly tight when suddenly... "Do you want some chai, samosas?
Do you want anything?" - Chai, samosas?!
- "Should I get something for you?" "Get up, the over is done".
Incredible! Too much fun. Bapu (Axar) says Ricky Ponting talks so fast
in English that he doesn't understand anything. Bapu doesn't even listen, he only pays
attention to what Rishabh says on the ground. I told him the next time Ponting says
something, he should reply... "Yes coach, I also believe
In the optimisation of resources". He'll be shocked,
if Bapu says that... The whole IPL he'll be wondering where
Axar got that line from. Ricky will take a 5 day holiday
in Maldives to recover from the shock Bapu can do that. What are the other
nicknames in the team? Nothing special really, it depends
on the setting and mood. I call Ishan 'Chotu' out of love.
Not because of his height... So I call him 'Chotu', everyone calls
Pollard 'Lord'. Pollard was pulling your leg during
the India-West Indies series right? Yeah, in the ODIs when I went to bat
he was telling me, "These are easy shots... Why aren't you hitting and
finishing the game quickly?" I said, 'Sir, the coach has changed and it's
an opportunity to be the match-winner'. 'Let it be for now, we'll sort
this out in the IPL'. When you played for Mumbai domestically,
you would have played with Sachin. Is is still intimidating
when you meet him? It's the same, the first time I went to the MI
dressing room, there was no space to sit. There were so many players and
I was just standing with my kit-bag... He had a fixed spot where there was a
Ganesha idol and he'd always sit there. He asked, "What happened?"
I said, 'There's no space to sit'. "Pull up a chair somewhere and sit".
'There's no space anywhere'. He said, "Okay, come here then" and
made me sit next to him. To date, that spot is
where I always sit. Be it a domestic game, IPL or any other
match... that spot is fixed. It's where it all started and it's a spot God
gave me so I have to sit there. I remember one of the MITV videos
we produced in which... Electricity went... what happened,
budget cuts? We have Surya, we don't need light. Braj, there's smoke
coming out of that. Rohit had said in our MITV video,
I think it was his birthday... No it was my birthday in 2020. 30th birthday, cake cutting, what
did he say? "Many happy returns for the day... Keep working hard,
you're not far from the India cap". - He said, "You'll play this year".
- Yeah, this year. He was always behind me, pushing
me - "Keep making runs... If you're scoring, score again the next game
and the one after that also. Keep knocking that door and if it
doesn't open, break it down". So he was completely behind me. Not just you, me, all your fans,
everybody was saying... "Give him the India cap already,
what are you doing?" We're already past the 'Better
late than never' stage. I can imagine you being disappointed,
because you're scoring runs... You're playing all the shots,
everyone says you should be picked... But it hasn't happened yet. But you've got a legend,
a captain on your side. I'm sure that's a wind beneath your wings feeling
when the captain supports you like that. It felt great because the way the IPL
started and the way it was going... Then 2-3 squads for a tour were
announced and I wasn't in them. Everyone around me was saying
I'd be selected... But when I wasn't,
I was like "How did this happen?" Everything was going well in the last 2 years.
You wonder what else you should do? Rohit Bhai asked me,
"You're disappointed...?" I said, 'Can't you tell from my face.
I'm sure you can sense it'. On matchday, him, Zaheer Khan and
(Mahela) Jayawardene said... "I think this is the perfect
opportunity for you... To show everyone what you've got". I said, "Okay". But there was a lot
going on in the back of my head. Luckily, we fielded first and the rush of
blood and adrenaline gradually lessened. I wasn't thinking much,
everything was flowing. The target and situation
also presented itself. I said, "Now is the time, If I score now,
everything will fall in place". The last 5 days that I'd wasted
by missing training... Fighting with my wife,
not talking to family members... I can wipe the slate clean in this game and
no matter what, I have to win it for the team. I got a message from Rohit Bhai
also to stick around till the end... We were losing wickets and he said
just stay till the end, the rest will work out. It all went according to plan,
we won the game and everything. - You were also clean shaven.
- Yeah, completely clean. I turned to the side where my family
and teammates were seated... I looked towards them and said,
'I'm here, there's no need to worry'. Nice. It was completely instinctive,
none of it was pre-planned... I turned to the side
of the dressing room... Didn't make any loud
gestures and reacted instinctively. The final sigh I took after winning the game,
that was proper satisfaction. The staring game you had
with Virat in that match... 2 tigers staring at each other...
What happened with him in that game? That's his style, his energy on
the ground is on another level. It was also an important game
for both the teams... His sledging was on another level. I was completely focused on myself. No matter what happens, I have to remain
focused and win for the team. - And not utter a word.
- Not a word! The ball went there, he gestured
and it was very instinctive... I was chewing gum and
looked composed... But on the inside I was terrified, completely.
My heart was racing. He is walking towards me, not saying
anything, chewing gum. Even I'm quiet. The voice inside was screaming,
"Bro I beg you, please don't say anything" - You were saying this to yourself?
- Yeah, that I should not say anything. It's just a matter of 10 sec, the new over
will start. The stare will end by then. He walked past me and luckily
I dropped my bat then... That broke the tension. I walked away and didn't even
look at him the rest of the game. No chance I would, I just looked
down and batted. We've never even spoken
about this topic since. -So when you got your India cap after
waiting for so long... Can you describe what
the feeling was at that time? I shut my door and sat alone in
my room for 10min, pinched myself... I hit the back of my head,
I was like, 'Is this even real?' I video-called my parents, wife and
sister, all of them were crying. I said 'I know it's an emotional moment,
but let it sink in'. But in that moment,
for 5-10 mins... I shut my eyes and thought of
all that I'd done in the last 4-5 years... I began to remember all the times
when I had to be really disciplined. - Who gave you your cap?
- Ravi (Shastri) sir gave me my cap. He called me in the afternoon,
when he was by the pool. When I got his call, I sensed
that something was up. - "Come down, come to the pool!"
- "Come to the pool", he said. I said, 'Ok sir, coming'. When I went down,
he just looked at me and said... "You'll play today". I said 'Okay
but why are you scaring me?' Then he told me about how it feels
to play your debut... How to be positive... He gave a short speech and even
after giving me the cap on the ground... He said some motivational words that
I really liked and pumped me up. You spent 4-5 years struggling,
seeing your batch mates... Even those younger than
you were playing. At that time, you think 'What's my goal?'
'My goal is to play for India'. If you make your debut at 20-21 (yrs old),
you'd feel the pressure to perform... But making my debut at 30, I didn't
have anything to prove to anyone. I hadn't played for India but I'd played so
many competitive tournaments Correct. And did so much. I had played with so many players
and batted in all kinds of situations... So when I made my debut,
I didn't feel out of place Not to disrespect the India cap but you go
out there and say 'It's just another match'. I had butterflies, there was pressure and
my heart rate was fast. But at the back of my mind... I knew not to overthink things
and worry about who's playing... Just play the ball. What are you doing,
who is going to eat this?! Take this back with the same
momentum you got it with. We'll 'well left' this one.
Thank you. I started to think how my life
changed in 2016-17. That was the year I got married. And I had been dating my wife
for 6 years since 2010. - From college, right?
- Yes, college. She knew that I play domestic
tournaments, play in the IPL... One day, after we'd gotten married,
she asked... Why my career wasn't progressing? You're playing everything and doing
well but others are playing for India. My batchmates from the U-23 Asia Cup
that I'd played... Were Axar Patel, Bumrah,
KL Rahul... We'd all been together but... In 15'-16', they played for India
and kept moving forward... So we started discussing what we'd
done in the last 3-4 years... What can we do better going forward. Then we started talking to a
nutritionist, a proper batting coach... She told me to put some effort in every
department and see what happens. So it was a collective decision
we both made. Cut down on certain things, stop
going out with friends late at night. Keep time limits, make such plans
but for the weekends. And when it's time for cricket,
remove all other distractions. I said, 'Okay, let's try this too'. So after my debut game, I had
played well, I was in my room... I began rewatching the game and
listening to what people said about me... All of you were talking about me,
I'm watching all those videos. It was 4 am by then. And she said,
"Your journey actually starts now". Your wife said this? Yeah. "Your real cricket journey that you
worked hard for 10 years... starts now. This is not the end point.
You can enjoy it tonight. But from tomorrow, there will be more
eyes on you so be careful. Rohit told me on our
recent tour of South Africa... "The turning point in your life
is Devisha". That gave me the extra push... That it's not just me but
even others can see her impact. How did you guys meet? You guys
met in college... Was it love at first sight? It's actually a controversial
story but anyway... In college, I was sitting and talking to
another girl and was facing the other side... She (Devisha) was walking
from behind me... A friend called out from behind
and I turned around... He said hi to me and
also to someone on the side... I was confused who he
was saying hi to... He came to meet me and
I asked him if she was his friend. Everything else is fine, but is she your friend?
You can at least introduce me to her. He went to her, they spoke for
5 mins and she walked away. I told my friend that he was useless
and told him to forget about it. BBM (Black Berry Messenger)
was big in those days... I told him to give me her BBM pin so
things can move forward. He said that he'd try. The next day I kept sending her requests and
she kept turning them down... I sent her a Facebook request and she accepted,
so I felt that I have a chance. She began asking me what I do... I proudly told her I play for Mumbai Indians
and thought she'd be impressed... Her replies were plain, "Ok".
I'm thinking such cold replies... It's better to just meet. We met and began chatting, we
used to fight a lot... We'd been talking for 15-20 days
but we'd always find a way to make-up. 'Okay it's done now, let's take it ahead
slowly' and the rest is history. - Things became serious very quickly.
- Yeah, very serious. How many tattoos do you have? If we're counting - the one here, on the
back and chest is one... No one ever objected to the tattoos?
Mom and Dad didn't say no? My first tattoo was of their names,
then I got their portrait made... Then I got the rest... - Simply clever
- Once I got the permission, then... They've never said no
to anything, right? Once they realised that there's
no scope for me in studies... Then they just let me be. There is that pressure to
do engineering in Indian families... - And your father is an engineer.
- Correct. He must not have put
pressure but he must have felt it? Yeah his friends and also my grandad
would put pressure on him... You've studied so much,
sort your son out also? "Where's the future in sport?" They'd just say this directly
and try to scare. There were lots of people like this -
mom's friends, dad's office friends... They'd keep asking,
"What was his percentage... What's his plan for the future,
what will he do?" "No, he's playing cricket right now".
"Cricket?" End of conversation. But they'd let me play as much
as I wanted to and didn't stop me... If he's worn out while playing,
we'll take care of him. They weren't behind me. They were
always ahead of me. "We're here". Before you did 'Main Hoon Na',
they did 'Main Hoon Na' to you. - Correct. 'Hum Hain Na' Your dad also said something
about Mr. Cricket, Michael Hussey... He keeps giving me his example and
how made his debut so late for Australia. And when he retired he was called Mr. Cricket.
So you don't have to play from 25,22... And play for 10-15 years before
making a name for yourself. How ever much you play,
make sure people remember you. Before we go, I want to say that I have
been rooting so much for you to play for India. And I'm so happy when you play... My show directors keep feeding all
sorts of records to my ear... Nowadays everyone knows
about records. I tell them "Just wait... - Just wait".
- The goal is big. The boy's got a long way to go. His name
is SKY, just watch the way he flies.