Suryakumar on being dropped: 'When everything is going well, why the change?'

[rollingstoned]

Suryakumar on being dropped: 'When everything is going well, why the change?'

"For one-and-a-half months I kept thinking, how can this happen? How is it possible? We just won the World Cup"

 

Suryakumar Yadav was dropped after leading India to the 2026 T20 World Cup title  •  ICC/Getty Images

 

Suryakumar Yadav was preparing to lead India in the next T20 World Cup and the Olympics in 2028 when he heard he had been dropped as both player and captain.

 

"I smiled after spotting that my name isn't there," he said on Aakash Chopra's YouTube channel. "Whenever I have been in pressure situations or when things aren't going in my favour, I've always smiled, relaxed. I have looked back at the moments and been grateful. I didn't think this would happen in 2026. I was under the impression that I am preparing to take this team forward for another two years - Olympics, another T20 World Cup and then another challenge going forward."

 

Suryakumar, 35, led the team to victory in 42 of 50 completed T20Is and secured them a world title at home in March 2026. That final against New Zealand turned out to be the last time he played for India with the selectors appointing Shreyas Iyer as the new full-time T20I captain.

 

 

"The guy they've picked, I have played a lot of cricket with him," Suryakumar said. "I know he's a good player, good human being, good captain also. So, I didn't resent the decision but was disappointed because we didn't lose a series for two years, won Asia Cup, T20 World Cup - you want the same thing to go forward. When everything is going well, then why the change?"

 

Suryakumar is one of India's brightest talents in T20 cricket. He is their third-highest run-getter in the format and his ability to play shots all around the ground turned him into a mainstay of the Mumbai Indians line-up, and then earned him the India T20 captaincy, on a full-time basis, when Rohit Sharma retired.

 

But when he started showing diminishing returns, in the 2026 T20 World Cup and continuing on through the IPL that followed, the BCCI were moved to a decision.

 

"For one-and-a-half months I kept thinking, how can this happen? How is it possible? We just won the World Cup. Yes, IPL wasn't as good as how I wanted," Suryakumar said. "Friends and family consoled me that this is part of life. But once they leave, you are alone with your family. We were thinking, how is it possible?

 

"They [India selectors] called me two-three days before the team was announced. They said, 'I think it's time to move on. How's it going? You saw what happened in IPL.' I didn't react because it's not my forte. Whatever call was taken, the person must've felt it's in the best interest of the team. You took the call, informed me, no harm done."

 

Suryakumar still retains the ambition to play for India again. "I am ready, I am still playing, will continue to do so. Whenever you feel the time is right, things are right, call me."

 

[rollingstoned]

Suryakumar Yadav regrets failing to crack ODI cricket: 'I take the blame myself, didn't put in enough effort'

Suryakumar Yadav admitted that he was disappointed with himself and felt he did not put in the required effort to succeed in the 50-over format.

 

Suryakumar Yadav takes responsibility for ODI failure. (AFP)

 

Former India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav made an honest confession about not being able to make it big in the ODI format despite dominating in T20 cricket. Surya, who led India to T20 World Cup glory earlier this year, struggled to cement his place in the 50-over side and managed only 37 ODIs, scoring 773 runs at an average of 25.76. His last ODI appearance came in the 2023 World Cup final against Australia, after which he has been out of the national setup. Despite his success in T20 cricket, where he has established himself as one of India’s most explosive batters, Surya’s ODI career never reached the heights many expected.

 

Suryakumar Yadav takes responsibility for ODI failure. (AFP)

Suryakumar admitted that while he could look back and wonder how his ODI career might have unfolded had he entered the Indian team earlier, he has no excuses for how it eventually panned out. The former India captain admitted he was disappointed with himself and felt he had not put in the required effort to succeed in the 50-over format.

 

“Hypothetically, we can say anything - that if I had come into the team in 2016, I could have played Tests and probably done well in ODIs too. But the reality is that I played only one Test and one innings. After that, the other players came back and started playing again, so it didn’t happen. But definitely, I am disappointed with myself when it comes to ODI cricket.

 

“It was a white-ball format, just like T20s, but to be very honest, I personally feel I did not put in as much effort as I should have for that format," Suryakumar Yadav said on Aakash Chopra's YouTube channel.

 

Suryakumar also explained why he considers ODI cricket the toughest format for a batter, with the game demanding a completely different approach depending on the situation. He pointed out how quickly a batter can find himself under pressure in the middle order and stressed the need to adapt, starting cautiously before gradually shifting gears as the innings progresses.

 

"I feel ODI cricket is probably the most difficult format to play as a batter, whether you are batting lower down the order or anywhere else. You can be two down for zero if you are batting at No. 4, or four down for 24 if you are batting at No. 6. Anything can happen. You have to bat almost like you do in a Test match. You see off the bowlers initially, give them respect and slowly build your innings. You may bat at a strike rate of 50 or sometimes 75, then take it to 100 and eventually finish at 130 or 140, much like you do in T20 cricket," he added.

“Could not crack how to approach that format”: Suryakumar Yadav

He did not shy away from taking responsibility for his failure to establish himself in ODI cricket, admitting that he never fully understood how to approach the format.

 

“Personally, I feel I could not crack how to approach that format. I knew I was probably going to bat at No. 5 or 6, but even then, I did not work hard enough to understand the format. By the time I could blink, those 20-25 games had gone. I don’t even know when it happened or how it went by. And yes, I definitely regret not playing more ODI cricket. I wonder why I could not do better in that format. But no one is to blame. I take the blame myself because I did not put in the extra effort that I put in now when I play T20 cricket. If I bat for an hour, I will practise for an hour and a half," he said.

 

 

[jf1gp_1]

100% records as Indian captain at ICC event

[Adamant]

Because Sarpanch sahab with his horizontal bat flapping is somehow the next big hope for India.

 

This is a country which produced the likes of Tenduljar, Gavaskar, Kohli, Laxman and now our hopes ride on Sarpanch FTB sahab.

 

Ipl jeet gaya to mai kya karu be? Mere L se tumhara IPL.

[Manucrick]

1 hour ago, Adamant said:

Because Sarpanch sahab with his horizontal bat flapping is somehow the next big hope for India.

 

This is a country which produced the likes of Tenduljar, Gavaskar, Kohli, Laxman and now our hopes ride on Sarpanch FTB sahab.

 

Ipl jeet gaya to mai kya karu be? Mere L se tumhara IPL.

Bcci fall on iyer fake aura how the hell this average guy going to lead us Indian team is too big for iyer he can't handle it 

[Lone Wolf]

4 hours ago, jf1gp_1 said:

100% records as Indian captain at ICC event

Lost to SA in Super six.. but under SKY never lost a series both bilateral and multinational.

[Suhaan]

Sarpunture puntured the juggernaut thereafter 

[nevada]

No point in complaining now after getting carried for a long time and missing the chance to go out on a high. 

[Manucrick]

Dropping SKY was fine even though he deserved another series But making Iyer captain has completely messed up the team

[adkrish22290]

I am glad he was dropped. He was a liability as a batsman in the side for a long time now, and even his IPL performance this year was poor. I am happy BCCI and the Indian team management are now following the perform or perish approach, even to players like him who would have, in another time, been put on a pedestal among the legends of Indian cricket and made undroppable just for winning an ICC tournament under his captaincy.

Edited September 5 by adkrish22290

[BacktoCricaddict]

Unfortunately, there is no room for brilliant non-playing captains in cricket. At some point, great captaincy skills do not outweigh batting failures. If only we had a system to super-sub out an out-of-form captain with an in-form batsman. 

 

All that said, he is still humble, self-aware and gracious even when expressing his disappointment. No wonder the team thrived under him.

 

 

Edited September 5 by BacktoCricaddict

[Lord]

14 hours ago, Adamant said:

Because Sarpanch sahab with his horizontal bat flapping is somehow the next big hope for India.

 

This is a country which produced the likes of Tenduljar, Gavaskar, Kohli, Laxman and now our hopes ride on Sarpanch FTB sahab.

 

Ipl jeet gaya to mai kya karu be? Mere L se tumhara IPL.

I see your rant but T20 is about FTBs only. A Gavaskar or a Dravid would be huge misfit.

 

SKY was a FTB too.

 

SKY was woefully out of form and everybody called for his head. Now everyone is backtracking.

[Suhaan]

5 hours ago, Lord said:

I see your rant but T20 is about FTBs only. A Gavaskar or a Dravid would be huge misfit.

 

SKY was a FTB too.

 

SKY was woefully out of form and everybody called for his head. Now everyone is backtracking.

Iyer was never a T20 player,the thing is, there is a sell by date for everyone.SKY was well past his, and we called for his exclusion in favor of Vaibhav.Iyer being very poor as a captain and straight away being brought into the side as leader disturbed the whole rhythm and combination

[Lord]

27 minutes ago, Suhaan said:

Iyer was never a T20 player,the thing is, there is a sell by date for everyone.SKY was well past his, and we called for his exclusion in favor of Vaibhav.Iyer being very poor as a captain and straight away being brought into the side as leader disturbed the whole rhythm and combination

Yes I would have preferred Samson too

 

Another thing is Shreyas and GG don’t get along well

[jf1gp_1]

15 hours ago, adkrish22290 said:

I am glad he was dropped. He was a liability as a batsman in the side for a long time now, and even his IPL performance this year was poor. I am happy BCCI and the Indian team management are now following the perform or perish approach, even to players like him who would have, in another time, been put on a pedestal among the legends of Indian cricket and made undroppable just for winning an ICC tournament under his captaincy.

one could have replace SKY with Manish Pandey as captain and we still might have won the WC. While i agree performance should be the criteria but lets be realistic Samson won you the world cup yet to be treated so poorly is not done. 

[jf1gp_1]

13 minutes ago, Lord said:

Yes I would have preferred Samson too

 

Another thing is Shreyas and GG don’t get along well

Was just checking his win ratio at IPL as captain is 50%. 

[sage]

SKY should’ve been given the British t20 series as a parting gift - very crude to kick out a World Cup winning captain like that. We deserved those defeats

[sage]

On 9/5/2026 at 8:09 AM, Adamant said:

Because Sarpanch sahab with his horizontal bat flapping is somehow the next big hope for India.

 

This is a country which produced the likes of Tenduljar, Gavaskar, Kohli, Laxman and now our hopes ride on Sarpanch FTB sahab.

 

Ipl jeet gaya to mai kya karu be? Mere L se tumhara IPL.

This is the attitude that leads to useless Iyer being made captain. “We need to have proper straight bat cricketers leading the country”

[New guy]

21 hours ago, adkrish22290 said:

I am glad he was dropped. He was a liability as a batsman in the side for a long time now, and even his IPL performance this year was poor. I am happy BCCI and the Indian team management are now following the perform or perish approach, even to players like him who would have, in another time, been put on a pedestal among the legends of Indian cricket and made undroppable just for winning an ICC tournament under his captaincy.

So what changes were made after we lost test series or lost t20 to Ireland and t20 whitewash against england?

 

You can chest thump all you want about the fake - perform or perish stance, but the actual series losses have lead to no changes at all, particularly a coach who has been awful in test cricket.

Edited September 6 by New guy

[New guy]

12 hours ago, Lord said:

I see your rant but T20 is about FTBs only. A Gavaskar or a Dravid would be huge misfit.

 

SKY was a FTB too.

 

SKY was woefully out of form and everybody called for his head. Now everyone is backtracking.

No, everyone is talking about repalcing SKY with iyer. No one would have batted an eyelid if he was replaced by samson

 

You are confusing two different things