‘Wife is always right!’ SKY credits partner for career turnaround; reveals 'one chat' that changed everything
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "‘Wife is always right!’ SKY credits partner for career turnaround; reveals 'one chat' that changed everything")
‘Wife is always right!’ Suryakumar Yadav credits Devisha for career turnaround Photograph: (AFP)
"Wife is always right!" India’s T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav opens up about the "brutal" but life-changing conversation with his wife, Devisha, that flipped his career. From KKR's struggles to back-to-back World Cup glory, discover the secret behind SKY's rise.
Wife is always right! Most readers would agree, and those who don’t are either not married or enjoy disagreeing for fun. Even Team India’s T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav says so, let alone just agreeing to it. For someone who emerged late on the international scene, 11 years after his domestic debut, precisely, his partner’s role played a massive hand in shaping who he is today. A genuine team player and a likeable leader, SKY credits his wife, Devisha, 100% for her advice, not on cricket, but about life, which SKY is grateful for, especially after winning back-to-back T20 World Cups.
India lifted its third T20 World Cup by beating New Zealand in a one-sided final in Ahmedabad early this month, and the winning captain, Suryakumar, was among several players who won it successively. Having earlier tasted success under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy in 2024 in the Americas, SKY repeated the heroics, with a younger and more passionate side.
When asked about the difference between the two victorious teams, SKY explained, "There were just minor differences between the two teams. That was an experienced team, and very committed. This team is passionate. This year, I can say that we had less experience but more enthusiasm. All the guys are 25 to 27 years old [actually, ten of the 15 players in the side that won the tournament were over 27, and nine were over 30].
"It was necessary to explain to them how it feels to win a World Cup in India, when people will cheer so much for you, 50,000 people, a lakh people, in the stadium,” SKY said in a chat with PTI.
Wife’s role in his success
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A credible T20 batter, a two-time T20 World Cup winner and having as many IPL titles to his name (with the Mumbai Indians since switching teams in 2018), SKY has a decorated career in cricket, let alone considering his T20 milestones across franchise leagues and for India.
Although SKY's coaches, teammates and everyone in the setup pushed him to succeed on the field, his wife kept him motivated. During the chat, he revealed that one conversation he had with his wife that flipped his career for good.
"We got married in 2016 when I was still playing for KKR [Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL]. Everything was going very smooth. I was playing well, enjoying, and she looked at my journey and my routines till 2018 when I joined the Mumbai Indians [MI]," Suryakumar said. "I think we started doing things a little differently [after that]. She told me that all those who played with you in the age group, a lot of them are now playing for India. What do you have in mind? I said I wanted to play for India too. 'How do you plan to do it?' she asked.
"It was a nice little conversation with her, not an argument but a discussion. But yes, it was a discussion about how can you take one extra step forward in your endeavour. If I want to play for India and want to win games for India, how do I do it?"
Crediting his wife for his success today, SKY said, "She [Devisha] has been a big influence behind the scenes in telling me honest things. If it is your partner, she will always be honest because all she would want is your growth, because if you want to grow together, conversations have to be honest. At times, it has been brutal, too, but then it has been good. If I am where I am today, those conversations have gone a long way.
"I give her 100% credit because it is not that she gave me cricketing advice, but she told me a lot of things related to life. What do I do? How to approach a certain situation? How do I carry myself?” he added.
Meanwhile, SKY will be in action for the Mumbai Indians in IPL 2026, starting March 28.
