Suryakumar Yadav’s childhood coach ‘humiliated’, sacked after 24 years; hides it from family: ‘I texted Surya and he…’

Suryakumar Yadav’s childhood coach, Ashok Aswalkar, has been sacked after 24 years. Suryakumar Yadav is at the highest point of his cricketing career. Already the world’s top T20I batter, Surya was rewarded for his tireless efforts when he was named India’s T20I captain, ahead of Hardik Pandya. Surya, 33, is likely to hold on to this post until the 2026 T20 World Cup where India would want to defend the title on their home soil. Between now and then, SKY is the limit for Surya, who embarks on this new chapter of his career with much aplomb and hopefully, a lot of success. But while Suryakumar is enjoying the highest of highs, his childhood coach Ashok Aswalkar is going through a bit of a personal turmoil. Aswalkar, SKY’s first coach, recently got fired from his job after 24 years and is down to earning ₹10,000 per month. The 61-year-old, who gave his blood, sweat and tears to Chembur’s Anushakti Nagar for over two decades, working as a curator and coach and earning ₹41,000 for his dual role, was ‘humiliated’. “I joined the BARC [Bhabha Atomic Research Centre] ground in 1989-90 and was assisting Jagannath Phanse as a groundsman and coach. I started at a monthly salary of R3,000 and when they [ASMC] discontinued my services in December 2023, I was getting R26,000 per month for the groundsman job and R15,000 for coaching from a coaching agency,” Aswalkar told Mid-day. Aswalkar’s plight can be gauged by the fact that he had to hide this very important piece of information from his family, worrying it may cause chaos and panic among his kin. Having lost his previous gig, Aswalkar switched to coaching at an indoor turn in Chembur, a job which pays him a meagre ₹10K a month, way lower that his previous monthly earning. To voice his concern, Aswalkar reached out to his disciple. “I didn’t even tell my family members that I had lost my job. I just messaged Surya to say that I lost my job and told him who was responsible for this damage. Surya in response stopped entertaining that particular person,” Aswalkar said.