FEATURES
Follow Us“Does it ever drive you crazy…Just how fast the night changes.” If one thing that could have summed up the madness of the Indian cricket team’s squad announcement for the Sri Lanka tour, it was these lines from the famous song Night Changes by One Direction.
Hardik Pandya was supposed to take over from Rohit Sharma as India’s T20I captain. But things changed and Suryakumar Yadav, whose first-ever leadership role was as deputy to Pandya, will now lead Team India, with Pandya in it. Incidentally, it was against Sri Lanka only that Surya was made vice-captain and Pandya the captain in 2022.
The night has indeed changed faster, giving way to the sunrise which would begin a new chapter in Indian cricket’s shortest format history. It will be written by the man who is named after the sun himself- Suryakumar.
By the looks of it, there is an air of theatrics around whatever has conspired in the last three days (July 15-18), but dedication, perseverance and not drama have been the key virtues leading to the rise of Suryakumar.
2010-11: Brilliant start to domestic career
Surya, who toiled in the maidans of Mumbai as a teenager, got his maiden breakthrough in the 2010-11 Ranji Trophy season. At the age of 20, playing against Delhi, the right-hander batted at number six and showed signs of his resolute mind, scoring 73 off just 89 balls. He was promoted to number four in the second innings but could muster only seven off 24 balls.
The middle-order batter did not play anymore in that season.
However, Surya made a resounding comeback, scoring 657 runs in eight innings of seven first-class games in 2011, thereby, forcing IPL franchises to take a look at him. The then 21-year-old scored at an average of 82 and strike rate of 83, making him a deadly combination of someone who could bat long and hit hard at the same time. Mumbai Indians came calling soon after.
2012: Unable to get chances at MI
Bought by the MI side, Surya was unable to become the coach and captain's first-choice pick. As a result, the batter could feature in just one game in the 2012 IPL season. Call it misfortune or an indication to move on, but he was out for a duck in that innings.
2014: Joins Kolkata Knight Riders and thrives as a finisher
Things changed as the Mumbaikar changed directions and went eastward. After average 2012 and 2013 first class seasons, Surya finally hit form in 2014, collecting 432 runs at an average of 61 and with two centuries and a fifty to his name.
Since those knocks came close on the heels of the start of a new IPL season and even closer to the IPL 2014 auction, Surya was bought for INR 70 Lakh by the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).
He played at number five and seven mostly. Surya was tasked with finishing the games while the likes of Robin Uthappa, Manish Pandey, and Shakib Al Hasan batted ahead of him in the batting order. Thriving as a finisher, the lanky batter scored 167 runs in his maiden season. KKR went on to win their second IPL title in 2014.
2015: Named vice-captain of KKR
Gautam Gambhir, who will begin his role as India's head coach with Surya as his captain will hopefully have no regrets this time around. In an interview during IPL 2024, Gambhir said, “If there is one regret I have in my seven years of captaincy is that we (KKR) never managed to use Suryakumar Yadav to the best of his potential.”
Despite not being able to utilize Surya well, Gambhir knew his importance and appointed him vice-captain after just one season as a player.
2016-2017: Unable to make the most chances up the order at KKR
Emboldened by the confidence shown in him by the management, Surya started getting more chances up the order but failed to capitalize on it. His best work at KKR remained as a finisher.
Suryakumar Yadav at KKR in IPL
2018: Scores 500 runs in comeback season at MI
In the 2018 IPL mega auction, Surya swapped east and west again and went back to the home turf of Mumbai Indians. He was bought for INR 3.2 crore. Things went on the upswing and Surya, who was unable to perform in the top order for KKR, got going instantly for the Blue and Gold brigade.
The then 27-year-old scored 512 runs at an average of 37 and a strike rate of 133. He batted as an opener in 12 innings and at number four in two innings of IPL 2018.
2020: No India call-up despite bringing the house down in IPL and domestic cricket
An ace fielder at any position, someone who could roll the arm over for a bit of a leg spin and a developing leader, Surya was knocking on the doors of the Indian cricket team.
Apart from three brilliant IPL seasons where he scored 512, 424, and 480 runs consecutively in 2018, 2019, and 2020, the swashbuckler also tore the house down with his powerpack performances on the domestic circuit.
Between 2018 and 2020, the Mumbai batter amassed 969 runs in 29 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) matches at an outstanding average of 53.83 and a strike rate of 162.9. It was not only in the T20s, but he was scoring runs all across the formats.
In 40 List A games in the same period, Surya scored 1240 runs at an average of 45 and a strike rate of 106. Even in first-class cricket, he had 1006 runs in 10 matches at 45.94, meaning that he left no scope for doubt in his batting. Still, he was unable to come into the scheme of things as far as the Indian senior team was concerned.
March 2021: Started India career with a bang
Always eyeing a maiden call-up, the MI batter was finally rewarded when he was drafted into the Indian team for the first time. England had come visiting in the Covid-era for a five-match T20I series in Ahmedabad.
Surya, who debuted at the age of 31, seized the moment with a six off the first ball he faced in international cricket. It was in his pure 360-degree style. He hit the attempted bouncer by Jofra Archer for a six over the fine leg boundary to announce his arrival.
July 2022: Scored maiden T20I century
Having hit the blocks running, SKY started to make himself an indispensable member of the side. On the England tour in 2022, Surya played one of the finest T20I knocks ever, threatening to chase down 216 single-handedly at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
He hit 117 off just 55 balls when no other Indian batter even crossed the 30-run mark individually.
November 2022: Establishes himself with a brilliant World Cup campaign
What happened in England was just the beginning of Surya’s steps towards becoming one of India’s greatest shortest-format batters. In the 2022 T20 World Cup, the wristy batter showed his temperament and big-game skills, notching up 239 runs at an average of 59.75 and with two fifties in his kitty.
Against South Africa, where all other batters could not face up to the Proteas pace attack at Perth, Surya scored a riveting half-century. He once again showed, why he was different from the pack.
November 2022: Second Indian after Kohli to become number 1 T20I batter
After his impressive showing in the T20 World Cup, Surya rose to the number one position in the ICC batter’s ranking. He overtook Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan and became only the second Indian after Virat Kohli to achieve the feat.
December 2022: Highest run-getter in a calendar year
An impressive England tour, an entertaining T20 World Cup and a confidence-boosting away tour to New Zealand made Surya the leading run scorer in T20Is for the calendar year 2022. His 1164 runs in 2022 are second only to Rizwan’s 1326 runs in a calendar year in T20I history. The Pakistani achieved the feat in 2021.
November 2023: Consistency rewarded with maiden captaincy stint
Surya’s stature in the national team had increased. It was evident by the fact that when Hardik was recovering from a hamstring injury after the ODI World Cup in 2023, it was Surya who was given the reins of a young team. He led in five T20Is against Australia at home and two against South Africa, away from home.
Joint fastest Indian to reach 2000 T20I runs
On the away tour of South Africa, Surya celebrated his captaincy with a stunning century, joining Rohit as the only two Indians with four T20I centuries to their name. Rohit would go on to overtake him with his fifth hundred later on.
It was in that innings of 100 at Johannesburg that Surya also became the joint fastest Indian to reach 2000 T20I runs. He equalled Kohli’s record who had reached the landmark in his 56th innings. Kohli played 60 games to get to 2000 T20I runs while Surya did it in his 59th. Babar Azam holds the record of being the fastest to reach 2000 T20I runs. The Pakistani reached the milestone in 52 innings of 54 matches.
January 2024: Named T20I Cricketer of the Year for second time in a row
Sports hernia ruled Surya out of the field of play for 6-8 weeks after the South Africa tour. However, he enjoyed success in the form of reward. Surya was named ICC T20I Cricketer of the Year 2023, getting the honour for the second time in a row.
June 2024: Takes the catch of the century to win India the T20 World Cup
Surya made a comeback to international cricket in June 2024 as part of India’s T20 World Cup 2024 squad. His two half-centuries against the USA and Afghanistan and 47 against England in the semi-final bear no comparison to his one single act of catching David Miller out and sending at least 140 crores Indians into delirium on June 29, 2024.
The sound of ‘Long Off…Long off’ by Jatin Sapru still rings in the ears of the people tuned to Hindi commentary feed on that historic day, all thanks to one man- Suryakumar Yadav.
July 2024: Gets named permanent skipper of the Indian cricket team in T20Is
And on July 18 (Thursday), exactly three years and four months since he made his India debut, Surya replaced Rohit to become the permanent skipper of an almost full-strength Indian T20I side.
It is here that his second innings begins. From struggling to get a call-up to the national team, to reaching the highest position in that team, life came full circle for the modest man from Mumbai.
But knowing Surya and his determination, the 33-year-old would be eyeing nothing less than the T20 World Cup title defence in 2026. The journey towards that goal begins with the away tour to Sri Lanka, starting July 27.
If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out — big time. Play Fantasy on Cricket.com NOW! Download the App here.
