The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will announce India’s T20 World Cup 2026 squad today. The team will be headlined by Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian captain who is woefully out of form. He has been such a terrible batter in 2025 that his place in the side is only saved by India’s terrific win percentage of 84 this year.
Suryakumar Yadav finishes awful 2025 with bat
Suryakumar’s struggles continued in the fifth T20I against South Africa in Ahmedabad, a match India won comfortably to seal the series 3–1. Walking in with the platform set at 97/2 inside 9.1 overs, the captain managed just 5 off 7 balls, once again failing to convert a start. He looked out of touch for sure. That innings summed up his entire year.
In 2025, Suryakumar finished with just 218 runs from 19 T20I innings at an average of 13.62 and a strike rate of 123.16. He did not score a single half-century across the calendar year. His highest score was 47 not out, which came against Pakistan in the Asia Cup group stage, and even there, his strike rate was a modest 117.87.
What makes the numbers more worrying is where the problem lies. Against spin, Suryakumar has actually been comfortable, averaging 98 with a strike rate of 132.43 and being dismissed only once. Against pace, however, his returns have been absolutely pathetic. He has 18 dismissals off just 133 balls, an average of 8.11, and a strike rate of 109.77.
Captaincy comfort, batting concerns
Much of the public debate has centred around India’s opening slot, with Shubman Gill and Sanju Samson under the scanner. Gill himself endured a poor year, failing to score a fifty in 15 T20I innings. But Suryakumar’s slump has started people questioning his spot in the side.
At 35, he remains India’s T20I captain and their preferred No. 3 or No. 4. His past record and leadership role ensure his place in the World Cup squad is secure. But with only five more T20Is and a couple of warm-up games left before the tournament, time is running out for a turnaround.
“Suryakumar the batter went missing somewhere”
After the series win, Suryakumar openly acknowledged the issue. He has previously also said that he is not out of form but out of runs. However, this time, he has once again been overt about his shortcoming, saying that the only thing missing from the IND vs SA T20Is was his runs. “It was a good challenging series. We did whatever we could; one thing we couldn’t do was find Surya the batter, but he will come back strong. Very happy with everything,” Suryakumar said after the match in the post-match interaction.
It was said with a smile, but the concern is massive. In the South Africa series, he scored just 34 runs across four matches at an average of 8.50. India kept winning, others kept stepping up, but their captain’s bat stayed silent.
