There have been a few instances, where Surykumar Yadav made it amply clear, that he was not out of form, but just out of runs. And on Friday, during the 2nd IND vs NZ T20I, he changed that too. The 35-year-old Indian skipper brought up a fifty after year-and-a-half in format, which also happens to be his 22nd in his career.
Suryakumar Yadav shows what he is capable of
Considering, he did not have even a single milestone in 2025, this holds high significance. More for Team India, and perhaps less for him personally. There was a time in his career when averaged in his high 40s, which has now reduced to only 35. But that phase might just be out of sight for him.
The strike-rate is back, and so are the vintage Surya shots. An average of 13 is what hurt his numbers, but now is the time to pick up and provide his team the stability. One could just see, he was moving well at the crease earlier too, but it was just the runs which were tough to come by.
Out of runs but not out of form
But perhaps, he knew it better, and before the start of the series said, “Every game we play in a series is crucial. We try to get something out of it. I have been batting really well at the nets and also talking about the runs; it will definitely come, but at the same time, I can’t do things differently. I don’t want to change my identity. What has given me success in the past 3-4 years, I would like to bat the same way.”
“If performance comes, I will take it. If it doesn`t come, then I will go back to the drawing board, practice again, work hard and come back stronger.” As far as the T20 WC are concerned, he has a decent record there. In 17 innings, he has gone on to score 480 runs with five fifties, and an average of 40, and a strike-rate of 158. With the form back, he would only like to improve on that record too.
