Mumbai analyst has an interesting nickname for Suryakumar Yadav

Saurabh Walkar, the Mumbai domestic team senior performance analyst, has come up with an amusing nickname for his friend and the city's veteran batter Suryakumar Yadav. 

Recognising his naturally attacking and adventurous strokeplay, Walkar calls Suryakumar "Zee Cinema". The interesting tag was unveiled during the player's interview with ESPNcricinfo's 'The Cricket Monthly', where the Indian batter explained Walkar came up with the nickname he did. 

Spotting that Suryakumar Yadav is a package with bat in hand, which provides action, masti (fun) and drama, Walkar likened him to one of India's famous TV channels, known for filming the best of entertaining movies. 

During his interview, Suryakumar talked about his nickname and his bond with Walkar from the beginning of days at the senior domestic level with Mumbai. 

Why Suryakumar Yadav gets called 'Zee Cinema'?

"He calls me 'Zee Cinema - action, masti [frolic], drama.' Because he sees all that in my innings," Suryakumar Yadav said. "When I started my first-class career, we used to sit together and talk about the game: how do I attack spinners, how do I attack fast bowlers."

"We used to discuss all kinds of silly things, like: Can you score a century in one session in Ranji? Can 150 be made in two sessions? Can you make a double-century in three sessions?"

Those "silly" discussions indirectly unlocked the beast inside Suryakumar and encouraged him to stretch his limits with bat in hand for Mumbai. 

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An attacking batter with a gradually expanded range in limited-overs cricket, even in first-class cricket, the 32-year-old carries a relatively high-end strike-rate of 62.68. 

On-field results only earned Walkar the respect and trust with Suryakumar Yadav, who says, his bond with the experienced performance analyst has grown rapidly over time. 

"Once our friendship built, he said to me, 'Tu toh action, masti aur drama waala aadmi hai, ekdum. Ground pe bhi jaake waise hi khelta hai' [You're a man of action and drama and you play that way on the field too]."

"I was very clear: what I do outside, what I do during practice, however I bat, I do the same thing in the game," he said.