India, Feb. 8 -- Suryakumar Yadav stood alongside Monank Patel, the United States captain, by the side of the pitch with match referee Andy Pycroft fussing over them. Ravi Shastri was waiting for his cue to kick off the toss proceedings when, out of the corner of his eye, India's skipper espied a familiar figure striding along the outfield of the Wankhede Stadium, a little distance away from the centre of the ground.

Disregarding protocol, Suryakumar abandoned his station and charged towards the man clad in black, a stylish jacket complementing his formal trousers. Rohit Sharma had just finished discharging his duties as the tournament ambassador of the T20 World Cup on Saturday evening and was making his way out of the ground, but Surya...