The Suryakumar Yadav quandary and way forward for Indian T20I team
CHENNAI: It is not often that a T20 World Cup-winning captain’s place in a side comes into question immediately after. Not in Indian cricket at least. Until 2026. Two months after Suryakumar Yadav lifted the T20 World Cup trophy in Ahmedabad, the Indian skipper’s future with the national team seems to be under the scanner.come under the scanner. The India T20I skipper — Shubman Gill leads in Tests and ODIs — has been going through prolonged lean patch and it has continued through the ongoing Indian Premier League season as well. In 11 matches, Surya has scored 195 runs at 17.72 average and 144.44 strike rate.
Surya has made it clear that he wants to lead India in the 2028 T20 WC and the Olympics shortly after helping India defend the title in March. “…definitely the next goal is the Olympics, Olympic gold and also the T20 World Cup that year. Don’t forget,” the captain had said with However, putting into context that he is 35, add the injury concerns, and the next big event is two years away, informal discussions are expected to take place on the way forward for Surya and the T20I team when the selection committee meets on Tuesday to name the squad for the Afghanistan ODIs and lone Test match. The squad for Ireland T20Is, meanwhile, may be picked shortly after the IPL.Former chief selector MSK Prasad feels Surya could be persisted with till the next captain is groomed. “Only a few months back he won the World Cup. I do understand that his form is definitely cause of concern both in the World Cup or prior to the World Cup and also in the ongoing IPL. I personally feel that more than anything else, all the Indian players who have played in that World Cup, barring Sanju Samson and a couple of people, everybody is looking mentally fatigued. I am sure that they are all extremely talented kids who can come back strong. So, I think it will be very harsh if you take a call on Surya immediately,” Prasad toldMeanwhile, Devang Gandhi, former national selector, believes that the time might be ripe to look ahead. “Definitely, you have to look ahead because this game is all about being informed. See after a certain point of time, you will have to be consistent. You have to keep performing. Otherwise, the way Indian cricket is, the kind of youngsters that are coming through the ranks, we need to definitely promote them. I would look at whoever has got a better chance of playing two years ahead (in terms of captaincy). Shreyas Iyer can be one candidate. Even Ishan Kishan has been playing well. There is still a bit of time left to decide upon that. You can try out a couple of options, whoeverNot that you have to have somebody leading the side now straight away,” Gandhi told this daily.
The one thing both former selectors reiterate is that now is the time to experiment and try out players, building the bench strength before the road for 2028 begins. “Going ahead, selectors should definitely give weightage to the players who have performed who are young. This is the best time to try out and create bench strength in these seniors, whoever can be brought back. So, definitely, this is the right time to get a few more fresh legs, young boys into the system and see how they are coping up with international cricket,”
Surya rose up the ranks through his consistent performances in the IPL between 2018-2021 before becoming India’s best T20I batter in the four years that followed. However, despite not losing a single series as skipper and winning the ICC title, Surya has come under the scanner.