Suryakumar Yadav’s spell as captain appears to be moving toward its end. With his batting returns dropping sharply after India’s T20 World Cup win, selectors are reportedly reassessing both his leadership role and his spot in the team. Confidence inside the selection group seems to be fading, and there is a growing sense that Ajit Agarkar and his team may conclude that it’s time to make a change.
For a while, it looked as though Suryakumar had the selectors’ backing, but the length of his current dip in form has made his continued presence increasingly difficult to justify. The prolonged slump is understood to have narrowed the room for patience, forcing the panel to take a fresh look—not only at who should lead, but also at whether he remains the right fit in the XI.
Suryakumar also had the support of head coach Gautam Gambhir, and people close to the coach had been playing down talk of a leadership reshuffle for the upcoming tours of Ireland and England, scheduled from June 20 to July 20, despite speculation that changes could be on the cards. Even with that backing, Suryakumar has struggled to strengthen his case, producing muted performances in the IPL and also falling short in domestic T20 competitions.
Calling his IPL campaign disappointing would be an understatement. He managed 270 runs in 13 matches, a stark contrast to the previous season when he was a key force for Mumbai Indians with the bat. During India’s successful T20 World Cup run, too, he did not have many standout moments, with his most notable contribution coming against the USA. The gap from last year to this one has been dramatic: Suryakumar struck 717 runs, recorded five half-centuries, and hit 38 sixes at an average of 65, finishing second in the run-scoring rankings. This season, however, he produced only two fifties and returned an average of roughly 20.77.
Runs have been harder to come by for him, and reports suggest even a recent outing in a local T20 match underlined the problem. It has also been suggested that he has been dealing with a wrist issue, which is believed to have affected the 360-degree hitting that has defined his T20 career. The fact that he struck just 10 sixes off 183 deliveries adds weight to that theory, though he has denied carrying any injury in a recent conversation with the official IPL broadcaster. In the local game, he again failed to find a maximum, scoring 19 off 11 balls without hitting a six.
No official call has been made yet, but the shift away from Suryakumar is understood to have been driven by discussions at the national selectors’ weekly review meeting, which takes place internally. Sources say the five-member selection panel held a virtual discussion on Wednesday to cover a range of matters. The more formal selection committee meeting is expected to be held in Mumbai on June 6.
It is also learned that during the panel’s last interaction in Guwahati on May 19, the selectors asked the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to arrange an in-person meeting. As of Thursday, June 4, the BCCI had not officially confirmed the date, but sources indicate the meeting is likely to take place on June 6, when Agarkar could even address the media.
