Suryakumar Yadav’s prolonged lean patch has set off alarm bells, and former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif believes it is a concern that outweighs Shubman Gill’s struggles as India look ahead to the ICC T20 World Cup 2026.
The marquee event, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, will run from February 7 to March 8 next year, featuring 20 teams across eight venues over 29 days.
India’s T20I captain has endured a stark dip in form in the shortest format. Suryakumar has managed just 201 runs from 19 T20Is this year and is yet to register a half-century. His numbers underline the struggle -- an average of 14.35 and a strike rate of 126.41.
Gill, too, has found the going tough. The opener has scored 263 runs in 14 T20Is this year, without a single fifty. While his average of 23.90 and strike rate of 142.93 are better than Suryakumar’s, the output has fallen short of expectations.
Kaif, however, feels the bigger issue lies elsewhere.
'With T20 World Cup round the corner, Surya's form is a bigger concern for India's than Gill's. India has many opening options but a designated captain can't be replaced,' Kaif wrote on X.
India’s recent tour of South Africa has mirrored those inconsistencies. After hammering the Proteas by 101 runs in the series opener -- bowling them out for 74 while defending 175 -- the Men in Blue came crashing down in the second T20I.
Chasing 214, India were bowled out for 162, slumping to a 51-run defeat as South Africa levelled the five-match series 1-1 on December 11.
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