Asia Cup and T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav has opened up about one of the toughest phases of his career after being sacked as Indiaโs T20 captain following a dip in form.
T20 World Cup-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav opened up about one of the most difficult phases of his career after being sacked as India’s T20 captain after a streak of poor performances.
Suryakumar held a spectacular record as captain in T20 internationals for India. He led the team towards successful title victories at the 2025 Asia Cup and the 2026 T20 World Cup.
But the BCCI selection committee decided to drop SKY entirely from the T20 setup and announced Shreyas Iyer as his successor, who has failed to impress as a leader so far.
‘I had not thought that this would happen’
In a candid chat with former cricketer Aakash Chopra, Suryakumar reflected on being removed as Indiaโs T20 captain, admitting he had envisioned leading the side at the upcoming Olympics and the next T20 World Cup.
Also Read |ย Pat Cummins lends support to former captains advocating medical care for Imran Khan: ‘Hope he is treated with dignity’
“Obviously, the situation that has come now, even I had not thought that this would happen. After coming in 2026, I felt that, going forward, I would be taking this team forward for another two years. The Olympics will come. Then there will be another T20 World Cup, another challenge going forward.
More from Firstcricket“But at the same time, what you think and what the other person thinks are two different things. It is important for them to respect their own thoughts. If they thought that, going forward, this is a better call, they took that call. But I didn’t react. Because I felt that this was their call. They took that call in that moment. Going forward, if this team can do well under someone else, no problem,” SKY said.
SKY details his immediate reaction
Suryakumar also revealed his immediate thoughts after his name was missing from India’s T20 squad. He was stunned and thought about how it could happen, as the team had won the World Cup under his leadership.
Also Read |ย BCCI not impressed with facilities in Japan, mulls sending ‘B’ team at 2026 Asian Games: Report
“I was thinking, how can this happen? How is it possible? We just won the World Cup. Yes, IPL was not as good as how I wanted. We were sitting at home. Friends came, family came. Everyone said that it’s okay. Part of life. But then, when they leave the house. We stay alone at home,” the former India T20 captain added.
Suryakumar also admitted that he is ready to perform for Team India once again and is waiting for the right time to be brought back into the fray.