Fully immersing himself into the rehab process over the last three months has helped Suryakumar Yadav "grow as a person and athlete".
Suryakumar rewired his "body and brain" to focus on the smaller things as he underwent recovery for sports hernia, an ankle injury and right knee pain at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.
"It's a little difficult to describe the last three months,"Suryakumar told the official IPL website. "It has helped me grow as a person and athlete. For the first two-three weeks. I felt very bored doing the same thing during rehab. From the fourth and fifth week onwards, I realised it is important going forward. It was important to decide how I wanted to come back."
Suryakumar had injured his ankle during the South Africa tour in December and was also diagnosed with a sports hernia that needed surgery in January. Since then, he's spent much of the past three months in Bengaluru with the NCA's medical staff.
His rehab involved religiously following a schedule, including eating right, giving his body enough rest to aid his recovery process. He also picked up certain things he hadn't done before, like reading a book.
"When I spoke to my wife, all the people at NCA, they said it has to be the second version of yourself," Suryakumar said. "You have to be a little different when you come back on the field. I started doing small things, like sleeping on time, following a good diet.
"I'd never read a book in my life, but I started doing that as well. Getting up in the morning, spending good quality time at the rehab centre, focusing on everything, connecting myself, my brain and body with the rehab, it helped me really well to recover faster because I had two-three niggles together."
Thursday's game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru at Mumbai's Wankhede Stadium will be Suryakumar's second since his comeback from injury. Suryakumar was dismissed for a two-ball duck in his first outing in over four months, against Delhi Capitals.
Suryakumar admitted to feeling helpless while watching Mumbai lose their first three games from afar, but he is now ready to hit the ground running for his side.
"It's always difficult sitting and watching when your team is playing," he said. "I watched half the games, because I was sleeping on time, by 10-10.30. I used to watch only half the innings. Of course, I'd watch the whole game next day.
"It was difficult, but it gave me a lot go motivation and inspiration looking at them that they're playing there, and I have to work hard on my recovery to get there as soon as possible."
How did he feel after his first training session last week?
"I felt like I was here since the IPL started," he said. "I always wanted to be a better version of myself. During the injury I realised the things I needed to work on. I had two-three months to work on my fitness and body. There were times I'd feel angry, but thanks to the physios and trainers - they understood how I wanted to work."