Mumbai: India’s former T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav, who led the team brilliantly to the 2026 T20 World Cup title at the age of 35, was removed from the captaincy a few months ago and subsequently dropped from the T20 squad altogether. While his fans have still not forgotten the decision taken by the selection committee headed by chief selector Ajit Agarkar, Suryakumar himself has now made a statement in an interview that is sure to please his supporters.
Despite the selectors taking such a tough approach towards him, Suryakumar still has a strong desire to represent India. Speaking on former India opener Akash Chopra’s YouTube channel, he said, “I am still playing and I am fully prepared to play for India again. Whenever you (the selectors) feel that the time is right, everything is going well and you decide to bring me back into the team, just give me a call.”
Suryakumar’s two-year plan goes up in smoke
Coming back to the decision taken a few months ago to strip him of the captaincy, Suryakumar had mentally prepared himself to lead India at the 2028 T20 World Cup as well as the Olympics in the same year. However, last June, he was not even included in the squad for India’s tours of Ireland and England.
Under Shreyas Iyer’s leadership, India suffered a 0-2 whitewash in Ireland and lost the England series 1-2.
Suryakumar initially laughed after not seeing his name in the squad
Speaking in his conversation on Akash Chopra’s channel, Suryakumar said, “When I saw that my name had been left out of the team, I initially laughed. Whenever I am under any kind of mental pressure or things do not go according to my expectations, I laugh and bring myself into a relaxed mood.
“I was thinking long-term about taking India’s T20 team forward for the next two years, so I was surprised when I was dropped. The player they selected in my place, Shreyas Iyer, is a good player, a good captain and a good human being. I had no problem with him at all. What disappointed me was that we had not lost a single T20 series in two years, had won the Asia Cup and the T20 World Cup, and everything was going well. So why was there a change in the captaincy?”
India won 42 of 50 matches under Suryakumar
India played 50 T20 matches under Suryakumar’s captaincy and won 42 of them. In March 2026, India became T20 world champions under his leadership.
Suryakumar last represented India in the T20 World Cup final against New Zealand that month.
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