Suryakumar Yadav, India's T20 World Cup-winning captain, finally addressed the elephant in the room, breaking the silence on being dropped from the national team immediately after winning the tournament earlier this year. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee went past SKY and chose Shreyas Iyer as the next captain for the series against Ireland and England. The biggest reason Suryakumar was shown the door was his own batting form over the last two years, during which runs became hard to come by for the right-handed batter.
In 2025, Suryakumar failed to hit a single fifty in Indian colours, and the T20 World Cup saw just one prominent knock from the batter, which came against the USA at his home venue, Wankhede Stadium. However, the captain Surya didn't put a foot wrong as India never lost a series under him and eventually went on to win the T20 World Cup on home soil.
Suryakumar admitted that his initial reaction to being dropped was not that fussy, as he tried to put himself in the selectors' shoes and understand why they wanted to move on from him and build a side for the future.
“I smiled when my name was not there. Because when I played cricket with the team for a year or two, and whenever I am playing, so whenever I have been in situations like where there is pressure, where things are not going my way, I have always smiled. I have relaxed. And this is what I have seen: the moments in the past when I have had opportunities to do well. I have been grateful,” said Suryakumar during a conversation with former India batter Aakash Chopra on the latter's YouTube channel.
{{/usCountry}}“I smiled when my name was not there. Because when I played cricket with the team for a year or two, and whenever I am playing, so whenever I have been in situations like where there is pressure, where things are not going my way, I have always smiled. I have relaxed. And this is what I have seen: the moments in the past when I have had opportunities to do well. I have been grateful,” said Suryakumar during a conversation with former India batter Aakash Chopra on the latter's YouTube channel.
{{/usCountry}}“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. 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,” he added.
‘Had difficulty’
However, Suryakumar admitted that he soon began to struggle with Agarkar's call, as he had never lost a series, and India's T20I performance was flawless under his tenure.
“I have seen the team that they have chosen. I have also played a lot of cricket with Shreyas. And I know he is a good player, a good human being, and a good captain also. So, I was not like, ‘Why did they make him the captain?’ But yes, I was a little disappointed. Because you have not lost a single series in two years. You have won the World Cup and the Asia Cup. Then you want the same thing to go forward. Because when everything is going well, then why? What is the reason for the change? What is the reason for the change? It was going on in my mind. I was sitting at home for a month and a half,” said SKY.
“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,” he added.
Communication with selectors
The World Cup-winning captain then revealed that the selection committee reached out to him three days before making the squad announcement and informed him that his name wouldn't be there for the series against England.
“They called me 2-3 days before the team was announced. They called me, saying it's time to move on. I didn't react. Because it's not my fault. That's not how SKY has ever been. Whatever call someone took. He must have thought that this was better for the team. Going forward, this will be a good call. You took the call. You told me. There is no problem,” said SKY.
“I am ready. You can call me anytime. I am playing cricket anytime. I will continue to play. Whenever you feel the time is right. Things are right,” he added.