India’s T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav, who recently led India to the Asia Cup 2025 title, said that he had the aspirations to be a part of the Indian team led by MS Dhoni. Speaking at JITO Connect 2025, Suryakumar further revealed that he learned how to stay calm during tense situations by observing Dhoni.
“Firstly, I always wanted to get an opportunity when he was the captain of India. But I never got it. I saw him behind the stumps whenever I played against him. He has been very cool. One thing that I have learned from him when I played against him is to stay relaxed in all pressure situations, he looks around the game, sees around what is happening and then takes a call.”
Suryakumar made his debut for India in the ODI format in 2021 against Sri Lanka. His first T20I game came under Virat Kohli’s leadership in the same year, against England, in Ahmedabad.
Speaking about Kohli’s captaincy, Suryakumar termed him a ‘different’ kind of skipper.
“I think I made my debut under Virat bhai as captain. I think Virat Bhai is a very hard taskmaster. He pushes your limits, and he wants the best. I mean, all the captains want the best from all the players, but he was full of energy on the field and off the field as well. He was a bit different.” he said.
Suryakumar came to the limelight when he started playing for the Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL, under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma. His consistent performances for MI played a key role in earning him the chance to represent India. The 35-year-old right-hander also won the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 under Rohit, where he took the important catch of David Miller in the final that sealed the match for India.
Suryakumar praised Rohit’s approachable attitude as a captain.
“Then Rohit bhai, under whom I played a lot of cricket for the IPL franchise and India. He is someone who gets everyone comfortable around them, an inspiration to all youngsters. His door was open 24/7 for everyone. That’s a different quality which I learnt from him and also from the other captains.” Suryakumar added.
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