It was yet another disappointing performance from Suryakumar Yadav during the third T20I against South Africa at Dharamsala on Sunday night. He managed to score just 12 runs off 11 balls before getting out to Lungi Ngidi. The Indian T20I captain has been going through a prolonged slump in form in 2025. The Mumbaikar has averaged just 14.2 in the format this year.
“Surya is too good a player to be thought about twice in T20 cricket,” said MSK Prasad, former selection committee chairman, to RevSportz. “In fact, he is one of the all-time great players of T20Is. Since the team is doing extremely well under his leadership, we shouldn’t worry too much about his current form. I am sure he will elevate his levels by the time the mega T20 World Cup approaches.”
Former India opener WV Raman also voiced a similar opinion to Revsportz about Surya’s lack of runs in the shorter format. “The desire to keep him as the captain in the T20 format makes sense, even if it means continuing with him despite the lean patch,” he said. “The thing about Surya is that he is the kind of player who takes a fair bit of risk. It is also important for him to get some runs under his belt before the all-important T20 World Cup next year.”
When asked about Surya’s batting order, Raman said, “Wherever he has done his best individually, and wherever the team needs him, is where he should be batting.”
Surya himself dismissed suggestions that he is out of touch during the post-match press conference in Dharamsala. It is a fact, though, that no captain from a full-member nation has scored more than 200 runs in a year while recording a lower average than SKY.
“The thing is, I’ve been batting beautifully in the nets,” he said. “I’m trying everything that’s in my control. And when the game comes, when the runs have to come, they’ll definitely come. But yes, I’m looking for runs — not out of form, but definitely out of runs.”
Suryakumar had a fabulous IPL 2025 season, scoring 717 runs in 16 matches at a strike-rate of 167.92. However, in the international arena, he has struggled this year. In 18 T20I innings so far in 2025, Surya has managed only 213 runs at an average of 14.2, and a strike rate of 125.29.
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