About three months after Suryakumar Yadav helped India lift a third men’s T20 World Cup crown, fresh reports suggest he could be dropped from the Indian T20I setup. While questions about his captaincy role beyond the 2026 T20 World Cup have lingered—largely due to age—his extended slump with the bat has been the decisive factor.
Quick facts
- Suryakumar Yadav is reportedly set to be removed from India’s T20I captaincy and may be left out of the T20I team.
- He had a career strike rate of 163 in T20Is and is nicknamed “Mr. 360”.
- He has scored four T20I centuries, the second-highest by an Indian in the format.
- Between November 2024 and the end of last year, he scored 244 runs in 22 T20Is at an average of 12.84, with no half-centuries.
- Despite that dip, IPL 2025 was strong: 717 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 167.91, earning the Most Valuable Player award.
- In IPL 2026, he managed 270 runs in 13 matches for Mumbai Indians, averaging 20.77.
- The BCCI is expected to take the next decision at its online Apex Council meeting on Thursday.
- Shreyas Iyer, Tilak Varma and Sanju Samson have been discussed as possible captaincy options.
Suryakumar was widely seen as one of the most destructive and adaptable T20I batters in the modern era, and his record reflected that reputation. He entered the “Mr. 360” bracket with a T20I strike rate of 163 and produced four international T20 centuries—the second-most among Indian players in the format. After the momentum of 2022 and 2023, though, his output began to fall away.
Between November 2024 and the conclusion of last year, his returns were modest: 244 runs across 22 innings at an average of 12.84. The drought was even more striking because he failed to register a single fifty, and only one of his innings lasted beyond 25 deliveries—an indicator of how quickly he was getting dismissed or losing the ability to build.
IPL 2025 spark—and the wait that followed
Despite the international struggles, Suryakumar enjoyed an excellent IPL 2025 campaign. He struck 717 runs in 16 innings for Mumbai Indians, posting a strike rate of 167.91, and was rewarded with the Most Valuable Player award. That form, at least temporarily, appeared to influence the selectors’ thinking.
As per a PTI report, the positive IPL 2025 showing led the panel to postpone any final judgement until the end of IPL 2026. A BCCI source familiar with the developments said the plan was to give him time to regain rhythm: the selectors, it was suggested, wanted to see whether he could return to form rather than making an early call while he was still in the tournament cycle.
The problem, however, was that the numbers did not rebound at the expected level. In IPL 2026, Suryakumar scored 270 runs in 13 matches for Mumbai Indians, finishing with an average of 20.77.
The broader shift in India’s long-term thinking also became visible through selection decisions. With the 35-year-old seemingly no longer part of the immediate T20 plans, the BCCI left him out of the preliminary 30-member list for the upcoming Asian Games.
In the same report, the source added that the intention was to drop him from the longer list and that the move signalled he was no longer in the team’s planning framework. A separate report from Dainik Jagran further claimed that Suryakumar has already been informed he will not be included in India’s T20I plans going forward.
Next step at the BCCI Apex Council
With Suryakumar’s exit appearing close to being formalised, the BCCI’s Apex Council is expected to make the next move at its meeting scheduled for Thursday. The report said the online Apex Council session will direct the Selection Committee that, in its next meeting, Suryakumar will no longer continue as captain.
As the captaincy question sharpens, Shreyas Iyer and Tilak Varma have surfaced as the most prominent candidates to lead India in the next phase of T20I cricket. Iyer is viewed as the front-runner on pure name value, even though he has not featured in the T20I side since December 2023. The PTI report also suggested that multiple selectors are keen on Tilak, seeing him as a more suitable longer-term option because of his age.
There is also a third option being discussed: Sanju Samson. He is understood to be the preferred choice of head coach Gautam Gambhir, though the selectors are reportedly not completely convinced by that pathway.
