The Suryakumar Yadav of the early 2020s is back! The 360-degree batter was out for runs for 15 months and days before the T20 World Cup 2026, the Indian T20I captain has stormed back into form in emphatic fashion.
SKY goes high
Suryakumar registered his third fifty of the India vs New Zealand T20I series, ending the 5-match affair with 63 off 30. Having already struck two half-centuries in Raipur and Guwahati, the 35-year-old capped it off with another scintillating innings.
During his stay in the middle in Thiruvananthapuram, Suryakumar rewrote the history books. The Indian captain now holds the record for being the fastest batter to score 3000 runs in T20I cricket.
United Arab Emirates (UAE) captain Muhammad Waseem had gotten to the milestone in 1947 balls. Suryakumar has reached there in 125 fewer deliveries. One must also account for the fact that the UAE hardly plays against full-member nations. Which means Waseem’s runs often come against weaker opponents.
That’s no slight on his abilities, but Suryakumar just has a more impressive resume against tougher opposition. England’s Jos Buttler had scored 3,000 runs in 2,068 deliveries. That’s 246 more balls than Surya. That tells you how good he has been for India since his debut in 2021.
Fastest to 3,000 T20I runs (by balls faced)
- 1822 – Suryakumar Yadav (India)
- 1947 – Muhammad Waseem (UAE)
- 2068 – Jos Buttler (England)
- 2077 – Aaron Finch (Australia)
- 2113 – David Warner (Australia)
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