If Shubman Gill can be dropped, why can't Suryakumar Yadav be axed too? That has been one of the most common refrains in the past 24 hours after India's selection panel, led by Ajit Agarkar, decided to fire the vice-captain for the T20 World Cup title defense early next year. However, they continued to have faith in the equally misfiring captain, who, if it were possible, has even worse statistics than his disappointing former deputy.
Gill's highest score in 15 games since making his 13-month comeback to the T20I squad this September at the Asia Cup is 47. Suryakumar's highest score of 2025 is 47 (not out), after 19 innings with just two scores of 25 or more and nine single-digit efforts.
Gill is 26 years old, while Suryakumar is 35. The latter is nearing the end of his career compared to the Punjab right-hander, but if Suryakumar has been given the captaincy despite his incredibly poor returns almost immediately after taking over as India's T20I captain from Rohit Sharma in July of last year, it's for good reason.
Suryakumar has looked the part when he has gotten off to a start, but he has found methods to get himself out, in contrast to Gill, who has found it difficult to establish himself. That is not comforting for someone who was the world's top T20I batsman for a long time but has fallen to a more modest No. 10. This is somewhat surprising considering how few runs he has scored recently, but it also shows how dominant he was for a considerable amount of time prior to the protracted slump.
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At the press conference on Saturday to reveal the World Cup 15 in Mumbai, Suryakumar admitted for the first time that he was significantly out of form. The Mumbaikar dismissed worries over his lack of runs after leading all-win India to the trophy in the Asia Cup in the United Arab Emirates during a thrilling final against Pakistan, stating that he was "not out of form, but out of runs." This came after he struggled to 72 runs in six innings at an unimpressive strike-rate of 101.40, the majority of which (47*) came in a single league knock against Pakistan.
Before the Asia Cup, Suryakumar scored 28 runs in five digs at home against England in January and 26 runs in three innings in South Africa last November (when he famously gave up his No. 3 spot to Tilak Varma). He displayed some promise following the Asia Cup victory, scoring 84 runs (strike-rate 171.42) in four games in Australia in October. However, he returned to his recent form last week, scoring just 34 runs in the 3-1 loss to South Africa.
All of this paints a bleak picture of a persistent fight against excellent bowling assaults, but it's not as though Suryakumar has a particular issue or has pursued an unsettlingly similar method of dismissal. There hasn't been any obvious pattern, which might be both beneficial and detrimental—beneficial because there isn't a single, heavy burden on him, and detrimental because he can't work assiduously to iron out a particular chink that is preventing him from moving forward.
Despite having only two half-centuries in 28 innings since taking over as full-time captain, Suryakumar has garnered more brownie points than Gill because India has won every possible match under his leadership: 3-0 in Sri Lanka in his first series as captain in July of last year; 3-1 in South Africa in November of last year; 4-1 at home against England in January; a perfect 7-0 at the Asia Cup in September; 2-1 in Australia in October; and now 3-1 against South Africa.
When the team is in such all-conquering form, it is difficult to even consider leaving the captain out, even if he has fallen short of his high expectations. During his incredible rise, would India have preferred more runs from Suryakumar? Yes. When his team is performing incredibly well, is Suryakumar content to keep looking for the large buildings? Of course not, as he is a self-satisfied person who will smile and admit that he would be content to continue failing as long as the team is winning, even while he is internally hurting because he is disappointing himself and his teammates.
In contrast to Gill's situation, all analysts agree that Suryakumar is just one significant hit away from becoming the titan he once was. The captain has five innings (against New Zealand next month) to find his inner beast again, but if he is nervous, overwhelmed, and desperate, he won't. He has the time and technology to determine what was most effective in thwarting niche threats. Suryakumar the destroyer will undoubtedly return, even though it may not seem like it at the moment when he appears to be frantically looking for his next run. And in a short while.
