India and Mumbai Indians batsman Suryakumar Yadav on Wednesday revealed that he has battled three different injuries in the past three months but is going through a “boring” rehabilitation process , he strives to become a “better version” of himself. The world’s No. 1 T20 batsman, who made his comeback in the Indian Premier League last week, revealed that apart from a sports hernia requiring surgery and ankle issues, he also suffered an injury to his right knee.

“I have two or three niggles, sports hernia, ankle and then right knee. I have to take it one step at a time, follow the little things and here I am, really happy to be on the ground,” Yadav said at the said in a statement. Video released by IPL.

The 33-year-old said following the same process in rehab was “boring” for him at first, but he decided to make the most of the opportunity.

“It’s actually kind of difficult to describe the last three (or) three and a half months. The first two to three weeks were difficult because I felt very bored doing the same thing over and over again (in) rehab,” he said.

“But by week four, I realized it was important to keep moving forward.” Conversations with his wife helped him understand the situation.

“When I talked to my wife and everyone at the NCA, they said it has to be a second version of yourself and when you get back on the court, you have to be different. I started doing all these little things like sleeping Be on time, follow good eating habits – that’s the most important thing,” he added.

Yadav said the time away from the game helped him focus on aspects he had neglected, which helped him recover faster.

“I had never read in my life, but I started doing that too. Getting up in the morning, spending quality time in rehab, focusing on everything, connecting myself, my brain, and my body with rehab really helped me Recover a little faster,” he said.

“I wanted to be a better version of myself and when I got injured, I realized what I wanted to do. I had 2-3 months to work on myself in terms of fitness and body,” he said.

Sky praises the coaches and staff at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for understanding and supporting him during his recovery phase, even if he didn’t enjoy the drudgery.

“I’m really grateful to the NCA support staff, everyone, from the coaches to the physios, they looked after me from the morning. Whatever I said, they accepted it.

“For a few days I was angry about going into rehab, but then they took it in stride and were very understanding of how I wanted to work,” he said.

Yadav, who struggled with NCA’s fitness tests in the initial stages of this IPL, said he never felt like he was not in the Mumbai Indians’ side.

“My whole cricketing journey started here and when I entered the hotel and the stadium I never felt like I had left this place,” he said.

“On the first day, when I was practicing with the boys and everyone around me, it felt like I had been here since the start of the IPL.” However, Yadav admitted that he was unable to watch IPL matches as he follows a strict routine.

“It’s always difficult when your team is playing and you’re sitting in the room watching the game. I can’t say I didn’t watch the game, when I was in Bangalore I went to bed on time so watched half the game. About 10:30 to 10:45 p.m.,” he said.

“It’s difficult but at the same time, it gives me a lot of motivation and inspiration that, yes, they are playing there and I have to work on myself and my recovery and get there as quickly as possible,” he added.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)