Suryakumar Yadav averaged just 12.84 from November 2024 to December 2025. He played 25 innings for India during his period. In the 3 prior years, Surya produced arguably the greatest peak the format had seen. He averaged 42.40 and struck at 169.48.
Form slump
All of a sudden, his performance fell off a cliff. What happened? No one knows. Surya kept saying he was in form, but the runs weren’t coming. The calls for his removal, not just as India’s captain but also as a batter, started to gain traction. With the T20 World Cup 2026 round the corner, India needs Surya to fire.
Luckily, he returned to his best against New Zealand. A 37-ball 82 in Guwahati was followed by a 26-ball 57 in Visakhapatnam. But was he ever going to be dropped? According to former Indian fast bowler Munaf Patel, the selectors wouldn’t have even thought about benching or resting Surya.
Why Suryakumar Yadav is undroppable
For Munaf, Suryakumar’s stature in T20I cricket isn’t dissimilar to what Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are in ODI cricket. What he means to say is that Surya is undroppable in the shortest format. The 360-degree batter had proven himself and, without a doubt, is the greatest T20 batter India has produced.
“Look, Suryakumar is Suryakumar. Just like you count Rohit and Virat in ODIs and Tests, Suryakumar is the Rohit and Virat of T20s. We always manage big players like this. A player is dropped only when you lose everything. But when you keep winning, some things stay hidden. This is your chance to give Suryakumar a chance,” Munaf said on Breaking Sports with Vivek Sethia.
India was dominating without him performing, and that’s why he was getting backed by selectors and head coach Gautam Gambhir. Munaf thinks the only way Surya would have been dropped was if India was failing.
“You are winning, so there is no problem. If you were losing, it would be a problem. When you are winning, you should back him. He is also a legend of the format, so you have to support him. You don’t have a choice. He 100% deserves his place. Suryakumar, like Virat and Rohit, can play an innings that makes you forget everything else, and he has that ability,” he added.
