Suryakumar Yadav's T20I - and thus, international - career seems to be on the line, despite having led India to a World Cup triumph just three months back. Abhishek Mukherjee breaks down why, and looks at the options India have at their disposal to replace him.
Dropping (or even sacking) a world champion captain (and an active cricketer) for their next game in the format? Barking lunacy, they will tell you irrespective of the sport … and yet, it does seem a viable option at this point for the Indian T20I side.
One World Cup is a small sample, you may say. Fair enough. How about this, then? Among captains with 50 matches, Suryakumar Yadav has the best win-loss ratio (exactly 5, that too if one counts the Super Over wins as ties) in men’s T20I history. Under him, India did not lose a T20I series or tournament irrespective of the number of teams.
Stretch the records across all T20 – and his ratio of 3.058 is the second-best (best if you raise the cut-off to 70 games). All this in a format designed for upsets.
The perils of leading a champion side
Let us first understand what has happened. In 2025, Surya had an ordinary year in T20Is, but he did well in Australia – and, more importantly – arguably the best IPL season in his illustrious career.
He seemed to have recovered in the New Zealand series, where he blasted 242 runs at almost two runs a ball. The Surya of old seemed to be back. Then, his unbeaten 84 lifted India from the doldrums against the USA in India’s World Cup opener.
Then things fell apart. Surya did lift the World Cup – but scored a mere 158 runs at 123. He did strike at 148 in the IPL, but that was slower than the season strike rate of 156. Neither of his two fifties – against Delhi Capitals or Rajasthan Royals – was particularly dominating efforts.
Still, with India dominating T20Is like no other Full Member has done in the men’s game, there was a chance that Surya the captain could have made up for Surya the batter. Yet, somewhat paradoxically, leading a champion side comes with a caveat.
Also read: Stability and consistency: Why Suryakumar Yadav was named T20I captain and not Hardik Pandya
Surya had taken over the mantle from Rohit Sharma, whose win-loss ratio of 4.083 puts him at third place on the all-time list. Among ICC Full Member captains, Virat Kohli (1.875) is just behind Rohit. India were a champion outfit that got progressively better with focus on power-hitting and all-rounders.
Across formats, one thing has been common to the all-conquering sides: they never had a weak link. While the captains did play their part, they had to fulfill one criterion: they were good enough to make it to the XI as a player.
One may argue that Daren Sammy faced only six balls per T20I and bowled 13. Yet, the West Indies retained him – for he led them in a phase when there was no guarantee of their greatest cricketers being available, and there was a long-standing rift between the board and the cricketers. He responded by being the first (and till date, only) captain to win the Men’s T20 World Cup twice. Sammy was an exception – because he led in exceptional times.
It is easier for captains of most teams to endure a long string of failures. First, they do tend to have some weak spots, and the captain often becomes one of them. The competition for the slot is seldom fierce. Their captaincy (admittedly a vague term) can make up for a lack of form.
By leading a team of eleven world-class T20 cricketers, Surya suddenly finds himself below that league. The Indian selectors had shown ruthlessness by dropping vice-captain Shubman from the 15-member squad not too long before the World Cup. They will now have to take an even sterner decision.
Of course, India can sack him as captain but retain him as a player. But what would be the point? Surya the batter is the issue here and not the T20I captain. And while Surya is one of the greatest middle-order batters in T20I history, Shreyas Iyer and Rajat Patidar are impossible to ignore at this point.
Now 35, Surya is three years older than Patidar and four years older than Iyer. It is difficult to see how, given his form, Surya is ahead of either of them in the plans for the T20 World Cup and the Olympics in 2028. Since all of them prefer the No.4 slot, it is perhaps time for India to take that harsh call.
Patidar or Iyer or…?
As is often the case ahead of Indian squad announcements, there are numerous reports of Iyer being the frontrunner in the race, with Hyderabad captain Tilak Varma named as a left-field choice.
The replacement conundrum is perhaps unique, for Surya’s replacement at No.4 is also likely to succeed him as captain. Iyer is the only captain to lead three franchises to the IPL final. This includes winning the title in 2024 and finishing runners-up in 2025. Patidar, on the other hand, led Royal Challengers Bengaluru to their first two title wins, in 2025 and 2026.
It is difficult to choose between the two captains. Iyer, with 51 T20Is, should have had the advantage of experience over the uncapped Patidar, but the last of them was in 2023. Iyer is also a first-choice ODI player (Patidar has played only one ODI) and has played more Tests, but this discussion is solely about the shortest format.
Across the last three IPL seasons, Patidar has 1,044 runs at 174 from No.4. Only four Indians have scored 800 runs only from No.4 across the 2024, 2025, and 2026 editions of the IPL, and this is how they have fared in terms of strike rates.
Batter | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Combined |
Rajat Patidar | 187 | 145 | 187 | 174 |
Suryakumar Yadav | 184 | 164 | 146 | 162 |
Shreyas Iyer | 139 | 177 | 169 | 162 |
Riyan Parag | 149 | 176 | 163 | 158 |
Iyer (and Riyan) had incredible seasons in 2025, but Patidar had outstanding outings in both 2024 and 2026. If one goes by form, one may see Patidar become the first man since 1936 to lead India on debut in a format (other than their first ever game in each format).
Is there a third option? Hardik Pandya has led India in the past, but his run-ins with injuries do not make him a sure starter. Perhaps a likelier candidate is 31-year-old Sanju Samson, the hero of the business end of this year’s T20 World Cup who led the Rajasthan Royals earlier this decade. Only 23, Tilak has age on his side and has led India A in the format, but is probably not in the race.
And while we are discussing, what about Axar Patel, the incumbent vice-captain?
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
