From Explosive Start to Prolonged Slump: Surya’s Captaincy Era Faces Toughest Test

In a five-match T20series, India and South Africa will play their first match today. All eyes will be on Indian captain SuryakumarYadav at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack during this match. Surya has been a flop for the past year.

Surya's bat has been silent for the last year. He has scored only 170 runs in 18 innings of his last 21 T20Is, averaging less than 10. Surya failed to reach double figures 10 times during this period. On three occasions, he didn't get a chance to bat at all. The last half-century of Suryakumar came against Bangladesh in October 2024. Suryakumar made an unbeaten 75 off 35 balls in that match. Ever since then, his batting has been dormant.

The situation was even worse in 2025. He scored at a meager strike rate of 127.77 throughout the year. He also completely flopped in the recent Asia Cup 2025, managing just 72 runs in six innings, with his highest score being an unbeaten 47, which came while chasing a small target against Pakistan. Following the Asia Cup, he failed to deliver on the Australia tour, scoring only 39*, 1, 24, and 20 in four innings.

Soon after India's victory in the T20 World Cup 2024, Rohit Sharma retired from T20 international cricket. Suryakumar Yadav was then given the reins of the team. His captaincy debut was impressive. In his very first match, he played an explosive innings of 58 runs off 26 balls. In the next match, he smashed 75 runs off 35 balls against Bangladesh in Hyderabad. It seemed as if the pressure of captaincy was not weighing on him at all.

But the story has changed completely since then. Since becoming a full-time captain, he has not scored a single half-century, and his average has dropped to just 19.71. With not much time left for the T20 World Cup 2026, Suryakumar Yadav's form is a cause for concern for the Indian team.