Suryakumar Yadav’s form has been worrying. The 2026 T20 World Cup starts in a little over 3 months, and India’s T20I captain can’t seem to buy a run at the moment. Since taking over from Rohit Sharma, Surya’s performance has fallen off a cliff.
Suryakumar Yadav’s concerning form
He had an all-timer in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, with 717 runs at 65.18 and a strike rate of 167.91. But on both sides of it, his form has been concerning. In the 2025 Asia Cup, he batted 6 times and scored just 72 runs at 18 with a 101.40 strike rate.
In his first three years, 2021 to 2023, Surya averaged over 45 and struck at over 170. Arguably, this was the greatest peak any batter has ever had in T20Is. No one expects him to continue doing what he was doing then, but the decline has everyone worried.
Suryakumar Yadav T20I stats
| Inns | Runs | HS | Avg | SR | 100s | 50s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| As captain (from July 27, 2024) | 20 | 330 | 75 | 18.33 | 142.85 | 0 | 2 |
| In 2025 | 11 | 100 | 47* | 11.11 | 105.26 | 0 | 0 |
‘Failures are inevitable,’ says Gambhir
Well, not everyone. India’s head coach Gautam Gambhir isn’t sweating over Surya’s dry run. For him, failures are bound to happen, especially considering the ultra-aggressive style of cricket that Surya plays.
“Honestly, Surya’s batting form doesn’t concern me because we have committed to an ultra-aggressive template in our dressing room. When you embrace this philosophy, failures are inevitable. It would be easy for Surya to score 40 runs off 30 balls and avoid criticism, but we have collectively decided that it’s acceptable to fail while pursuing this approach,” Gambhir told JioStar before the India vs Australia T20I series.
India’s head coach pointed out how Abhishek Sharma has been making the most of his golden run, and when Surya’s time comes, he’ll do the same by winning matches for India.
“Currently, Abhishek Sharma is in good form and has maintained it throughout the Asia Cup. When Surya finds his rhythm, he will shoulder the responsibility accordingly. In T20 cricket, our focus isn’t on individual runs but on the brand of cricket we want to play. With our aggressive style, batters may fail more often, but impact ultimately matters more than mere runs,” he added.
