Suryakumar Yadav’s form is no longer a hiccup but a genuine issue as his lean run with the bat shows no improvement.
Suryakumar Yadav’s form and lack of runs a worry in lead-up to T20 World Cup.
Suryakumar Yadav has only amassed 227 runs at a strike rate of 120.10 and an average of 13.35 in 20 innings since November 2024. Only two of his innings have lasted longer than 20 balls, and he hasn’t reached a fifty during this time. On Thursday, Marco Jansen extended that losing streak by dismissing Suryakumar for five runs in four balls.
In the second Twenty20 International against South Africa in New Chandigarh, India was ultimately bowled out for 162 while chasing 214. They had only lost four of their twenty-one full Twenty20 Internationals since November 2024. India’s depth, which enabled them to win without significant contributions from Suryakumar, is the reason for that record.
However, Suryakumar had yet another poor day on Thursday, which also happened to be a rare terrible day for the majority of the other batters. When India lost by 51 runs, their second-largest defeat in the format, things became worse and the SKYfall—both as a hitter and a captain—came to light.
After walking out to bat at number four, Suryakumar was dismissed in a manner akin to a Test match by nicking his fourth delivery from Jansen behind. South Africa’s attack took full advantage of the short window of early movement, capturing three wickets in the powerplay, including Suryakumar’s.
After Shubman Gill was also spun out for a duck, Suryakumar might have missed a trick by staying at number three. Nor did he place Tilak Varma at No. 3. Instead, India exposed Axar Patel to that swing and seam movement by moving him up at No. 3 for the first time in 52 T20I innings. Axar, who is accustomed to being promoted, struggled to a run-a-ball 21 in a new role as a spin disruptor. Neither Axar nor another spin hitter, Shivam Dube, faced a ball from left-arm spinner George Linde due to a tactical error. Linde escaped with scores of 3-0-23-0.
Although Suryakumar’s poor performance is concerning, there aren’t any clear trends in his termination. Since November 2024, he has been dismissed just once for spin and 17 times for pace in a variety of ways, including being caught in the deep, caught behind, and chopped on.
Any batter, but particularly those who play high-risk cricket in Twenty20 matches, may experience such a poor output. It’s simple to forget that Suryakumar has already been in this situation and overcome his slump.
After making two ducks in five innings against England at home to start IPL 2025, Suryakumar turned things around spectacularly, scoring 717 runs in 16 innings at an average of 65.18 and a strike rate of 167.91.
Although there haven’t been many big runs either side of the IPL, India’s team management will be hoping that Suryakumar can improve once more in the run-up to a home World Cup.