A year ago, Suryakumar Yadav could do no wrong. Every ramp, flick, and inside-out loft over extra cover seemed to humiliate bowlers who dared to pitch it in his half. Today, those same shots look forced, even desperate. The fluency is gone, and the runs have dried up. With the T20 World Cup 2026 just a couple of months away, India’s captain finds himself out of form and running out of time.
Suryakumar Yadav’s horrible form
Suryakumar finished the Australia T20 series with 84 runs from four innings at a strike rate of 171.42, which is not disastrous on paper but deeply misleading. His scores of 39, 1, 24, and 20 show a pattern of starts fading too soon. It has been this way for months. Across his last 24 T20I innings since the 2024 World Cup, he has averaged just 19.71, with only two fifties.
The last half-century came more than a year ago, in October 2024, against Bangladesh. Since then, the scoreboard has been a painful read for someone once hailed as the most destructive T20 batter in the world.
Suryakumar Yadav’s T20I innings since last 50
| Opposition | Date | Runs |
|---|---|---|
| South Africa | Nov 2024 | 26 runs (3 inns) |
| England | Jan–Feb 2025 | 28 (across 5 inns) |
| Asia Cup | Sep 2025 | 72 (across 6 inns) (SR of 101.41) |
| Australia | Oct–Nov 2025 | 84 (across 4 inns) |
The irony is cruel. Just a few months earlier, he had one of the greatest IPL seasons ever, 717 runs at a strike rate of 167.9 for Mumbai Indians (MI), looking like a man incapable of failing. With a home T20 World Cup looming, India are betting big on their captain’s resurgence. Before the Australia series, he insisted the runs will come and for both him and India, they can’t come soon enough.
| Inns | NO | Runs | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 0s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | 3 | 184 | 47* | 15.33 | 144 | 127.77 | 3 |
For a player who had looked untouchable in franchise cricket, the contrast was jarring. He doesn’t look anywhere close to his best. There was a reason why he was once considered in India’s all-time T20 lineup even after playing for a couple of years. But, now 35, his prime might be well past him. This year, he has managed just 184 runs at an average of 15.33.
Pressure of captaincy or temporary slump?
It’s hard to ignore how captaincy may have changed him. The carefree batter who once dismantled bowling attacks with a smile now plays the same way but is ineffective now. With an unsettled middle order around him and India rotating their No. 3 to No. 6 spots regularly, Suryakumar hasn’t looked settled in one role.
| Inns | Runs | Avg | SR | 100 | 50 | 6s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Not as captain | 89 | 2754 | 36.72 | 164.41 | 4 | 21 | 154 |
| As captain | 31 | 714 | 25.5 | 154.54 | 1 | 4 | 40 |
One thing that Suryakumar alluded to after the Australia series is that the bowlers have found out his strong areas. This looks true as well, since bowlers are now keeping slower to him, denying Suryakumar the use of the pace to hit above his head. Also, captains are now smart and brings in left-arm spinners, knowing he averages below 36 and has been out 24 times against them.
“Obviously, the more I play, the bowlers will identify my strong areas and bowl less there. It will always be a challenge how you can make yourself better. But for that, I feel you need a very positive environment, which I am getting. So I feel as a batter, if I get that, I always think of improving myself. Whether it’s any team or any bowler, I think about how I can give a start to the team and how I can improve my ability,” Suryakumar said in the post-match press conference after the fifth abandoned T20I vs Australia.
At 35, with over 300 T20 innings behind him, he still remains India’s most gifted stroke-maker. However, he seemed to be in an awful form and India might carry him till the T20 World Cup 2026 but post that, he needs ‘earn’ the spot in the lineup.
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