India captain Suryakumar Yadav has not had the best of times with the bat in T20Is ever since he was named the full-time captain in the format. SKY took over the T20I captaincy from Rohit Sharma one series after the T20 World Cup 2024. While Shubman Gill led India on their T20I tour to Zimbabwe with regulars resting, SKY was made the T20I skipper from the Sri Lanka series onwards in July 2024.
Since the T20 World Cup 2024, Suryakumar Yadav has only two scores of over fifty in his last 11 T20I innings. In those 11 innings, he has 242 runs at an average of 22, a major drop from his career average of 39.72, although his strike rate reads 165.75 during this time.
The India T20I captain has given his No.3 spot to Tilak Varma in a few games but has still batted majorly at one down. While the Indian T20 batting has been fiery and great, SKY would be itching to turn his form around, and what better place than Rajkot, where the upcoming T20I against England will be played?
India will face the Three Lions at the Niranjan Shah Stadium, previously known as the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, in the third game on Tuesday, January 28.
Surya can take confidence from India's last T20I at the venue in January 2023 against Sri Lanka. SKY slammed a stunning century in the third T20I of the series. He hit an unbeaten 112 off 51 balls at a strike rate of 219.60 as he led India to 228 batting first.
The T20 beast was on a run-scoring spree in both 2022 and 2023. He was the leading run-scorer in 2022 with 1164 runs to his name in 31 innings at an average of 46.56 and a strike rate of 187.43. He had also hit two centuries and nine half-tons in the year.
SKY had a strong 2023 too as he hit 733 runs in 23 innings at an average of 48.86 and a strike rate of 155.95. This is in stark comparison to his ongoing form after the T20 World Cup 2024 (as mentioned above).
When he steps on the field in Rajkot, SKY will look to get among runs. India currently lead the five-match series against England 2-0. They spun out the English side in the first T20I with ease before a thrilling close win in the second game on the back of a valiant knock from Tilak Varma. Come Rajkot, the hosts will look to bag the series.