Irfan Pathan believes that India is not giving enough credit to one of their most successful T20I captains. As the T20 World Cup 2026 approaches, Pathan feels Suryakumar Yadav’s role as leader and batter has been hugely underrated, even though the numbers are incredible.
Suryakumar took over India’s T20I captaincy in July 2024 after Rohit Sharma retired from the format. Since then, India has looked settled and confident under his leadership. They have won 31 out of 43 matches, lifted the Asia Cup 2025, and sealed seven back-to-back bilateral series.
Irfan Pathan feels Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy deserves more praise
Even more impressive is the fact that India has not lost a single T20I series since Suryakumar became captain. Despite the remarkable results, there is not much noise over his captaincy.
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Recently, the former Indian all-rounder said that Suryakumar’s biggest strength as a leader is the way he looks after his bowlers and trusts them in pressure situations, something that reminds him of Rohit Sharma’s style. He even called him the bowlers’ captain.
Irfan Pathan was quoted as saying by Revsportz: “We don’t celebrate Surya the captain as much for whatever reason. His win percentage is 84% as Team India captain, which is the highest that we have had. The way he takes care of bowlers, I see a shadow of Rohit Sharma in him—he is a bowler’s leader.”
Suryakumar Yadav’s tough phase finally ends ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026
On the batting front, the last year was not easy for Suryakumar Yadav. In 2025, the stylish batter went through a long dry spell, scoring just 244 runs in 22 innings without a single fifty and averaging below 14. However, the Indian captain has now found his form back with the bat.
Suryakumar smashed back-to-back fifties in the ongoing five-match T20I series against New Zealand at home. As the right-handed batter is once again playing fearless cricket, Pathan feels his return to form has come at the perfect time, as India is set to defend the T20 World Cup title from February 7.
The cricket pandit further mentioned, “As a batsman, it was very crucial for him to feel good about himself and equally important for him to go into the World Cup scoring runs. I had this feeling before the India-New Zealand series that he would make runs here.”
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Middle-order impact is the biggest boost for India
Pathan also backed the Indian captain to bat at number four, as his impact in the middle overs is exactly what India needs in the upcoming showpiece event. He added, “The areas that he plays in are very difficult for a spinner to contain, and this is the reason his strike rate is above 160 playing at number four.”
The former Indian all-rounder mentioned that the players like Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Rinku Singh, and Ravi Bishnoi making strong comebacks is great news, but Suryakumar Yadav finding form is the biggest boost for India ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026.
Pathan signed off by saying, “This is the most important positive takeaway from the series. The way Suryakumar got runs is the biggest positive for Team India ahead of the World Cup.”
