Is Suryakumar Yadav the Ultimate GOAT for India in T20I Cricket?

Suryakumar Yadav, the captain of the Indian team in the T20I format, has been deemed the ultimate GOAT of the game. He made his debut for the Indian team after crossing the age of 30, which is now coming to be an age where the young stars choose retirement. From making his debut in his 30s to leading the side, the rollercoaster journey of Suryakumar Yadav has been incredible.

Before he made his debut for the Indian team, he put down enormous efforts to be noticed by the selectors through the Indian Premier League. But he was not able to get his way to the line-up, as the team already had various batsmen ready to take up the spot in the Indian team.

Still, Suryakumar Yadav didn’t give up and continued to dominate in the Indian Premier League along with the other T20 tournaments. This eventually helped him to gain his debut T20I cap for the team, and this was a moment for him to ensure that he deserved what he had been waiting for.

Even years after his debut, he was trolled by the fans relentlessly on some or the other matter. But Suryakumar Yadav kept the outside noises away and focused on himself in such a great way, he is now among the greatest T20I captains for the Indian team. Let’s take a look at how his career bloomed late but came out to be worthy, not just for him but also for the Indian fans.

Suryakumar Yadav’s Tough Road to India Selection

Suryakumar Yadav had to wait for years to make his debut for the Indian cricket team in the format that he loves the most. He had been playing in the Indian Premier League since the 2012 season, but didn’t receive consistent opportunities to play for the team. During his stint with Kolkata Knight Riders, from IPL 2014 to 2017, he scored less than 200 runs each season, despite playing more than half of the tournament.

Just when things started to look a bit challenging for Sky to make his debut, he was picked up by the Mumbai Indians for the IPL 2018 season. This turned out to be one of the many turning points in his career. In his first season with the Mumbai Indians, Suryakumar Yadav ended up scoring 512 runs in 14 matches at an average of 36.57, with four half-centuries.

Season	Matches	Runs	High Score	Average	Strike Rate	50s
IPL 2018	14	512	72	36.57	133.33	4
IPL 2019	16	424	71*	32.61	130.86	2
IPL 2020/21	16	480	79*	40.00	145.01	4

This season was a lot better for him, as he didn’t score 500 runs combined in his last three seasons with the Kolkata Knight Riders. But he didn’t look back and continued to dominate in the Indian Premier League with the Mumbai Indians. The seasons 2019 and 2020/21 turned out to be a changing moment for him and the Mumbai Indians both.

In the IPL 2019 season, he finished scoring 424 runs in 16 matches at an average of 32.61, with 2 half-centuries. This season, the Mumbai Indians won their fourth IPL title. In the next season, he finished scoring 480 runs, and this time with an impressive average of 40, with four half-centuries. Mumbai Indians ended up winning the IPL title consecutively, making them the most dominant IPL team at that time.

Suryakumar Yadav surely played an important role in the team’s dominance, but his ultimate goal was still to make his way to the Indian team. However, during the IPL 2020/21, he had a controversial moment with Virat Kohli, who was then the captain of the Indian cricket team.

During a match between the Mumbai Indians and the Royal Challengers Bangalore, Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli had a long staredown, as fans got to know that there were some tensions between them. Although the staredown didn’t escalate, there were speculations that Suryakumar Yadav had made it difficult for himself to make a debut for the Indian team.

But hard work can never be denied or ignored, as Suryakumar Yadav eventually got his maiden call-up for the Indian team in the T20I format. The moment for which he had been waiting took place in 2021, and it was a chance for Suryakumar Yadav to prove his worth, noting that the Indian team had various contenders in the batting line-up.

International Debut to Glory: SKY’s Career Highlights

During the 2021 England tour of India, Suryakumar Yadav got his name into the Indian squad, with Virat Kohli as the captain. After not being selected for the first game, he got his debut cap for the second match. However, his chance to bat didn’t come, as Virat Kohli was able to finish the game, leading India to win by 7 wickets.

Following this, he was dropped from the team for the third game but eventually returned for the fourth match. In this game, the skipper, Virat Kohli, decided to send Suryakumar Yadav at number three, which is usually his spot. Taking the responsibility, Suryakumar started his international career with a fine six against Jofra Archer.

A bowler who has scared even the prime version of various star batsmen was smashed for a six by Suryakumar Yadav on his very first international ball. Later, he went on to score 57 runs off 31 balls, which came out to be helpful for the Indian team as they won the match by 8 runs. Starting his international career with a Player of the Match award showcased to the fans that Sky is here to dominate.

Since his debut in the T20I format, Suryakumar Yadav has played 84 matches for the Indian team and scored 2605 runs at an average of 38.30, with 4 centuries and 21 half-centuries. His strike rate stands at 167.30, which showcases his ability to score runs for the team at a rapid pace, regardless of the bowlers he is facing.

The year 2022 turned out to be his prime time in the shortest format of the game. In this year alone, he played 31 T20I games for India and scored 1164 runs at an average of 46.56, with 2 centuries and 9 half-centuries. Not only did he dominate for the team in the bilateral series, but he also performed well for India in the T20 World Cups he played.

Throughout his T20 World Cup career, he has played 18 matches and scored 480 runs at an average of 40, with 5 centuries. In his first-ever T20 World Cup (2021 edition), he scored 42 runs for the team in 3 innings and remained not out in two of them. However, he received a chance to play again in the T20 World Cup 2022 edition, looking at his performances during the year.

Tournament	Matches	Runs	High Score	Average	Strike Rate	50s
T20 World Cup 2021	4	42	25*	42.00	144.82	0
T20 World Cup 2022	6	239	68	59.75	189.68	3
T20 World Cup 2024	8	199	53	28.42	135.37	2

He ended up as India’s second-highest run scorer in the tournament, after Virat Kohli, as he scored 239 runs in 6 innings at an average of 59.75, with three half-centuries. Playing for the team in two T20 World Cups, Suryakumar Yadav didn’t taste the success of winning the title.

But he eventually went for the same in the T20 World Cup 2024, when India won the title by defeating South Africa in the final match. The last over of the game saw another changing moment for Suryakumar Yadav, as he took the catch of David Miller at the boundary line, which came as the game-changing moment for the Indian team.

Suryakumar Yadav Leading India with Style

With the T20 World Cup 2024 coming to an end, India’s captain, Rohit Sharma, announced his retirement from the format. The team was looking for a new leader, and fans thought that it would be Hardik Pandya, who was the vice captain of the team when it was being led by the Hitman. However, Suryakumar Yadav was announced as the new captain for the Indian side, which shocked the fans.

He received enormous trolling from the fans after he was announced as the captain. But Suryakumar Yadav decided to keep himself away from the outside noises yet again, and this has proved worthwhile for him. As of now, the Indian team has gone on to maintained its number one spot in the ICC rankings since they have won the T20 World Cup.

Since the day he took the captaincy of the Indian cricket team, he has also made ways for various players who wanted to receive consistent opportunities. Players like Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, and many more, who were giving their best in the domestic and IPL, got their chances to play constantly for the Indian team under his captaincy.

Along with that, Suryakumar Yadav also came in as the team’s captain, which was noticed by the fans after the debut of Tilak Varma. Suryakumar usually comes out to bat at number three, but he sacrificed his spot for the young talent to make his way completely in the team.

SURYAKUMAR YADAV AS T20I CAPTAIN FOR INDIA:

Matches – 23.
Won – 19.
Lost – 4.
Win% – 82.60%.

– The Domination of Captain Surya.🔥 pic.twitter.com/XKIpJfP569

— Tanuj (@ImTanujSingh) September 11, 2025

As of now, Suryakumar Yadav holds the best win rate for the Indian team as a captain, having a win percentage of 82.60%, which is even more than Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni. In the 23 matches he has led the Indian side, he has helped the team to win 19 of these games and lost just four.

Captain Sky now has the Asia Cup 2025 and the T20 World Cup 2026 ahead of him as the next challenge. If he can win both of them, he would easily be determined as India’s best T20I captain, overtaking Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni.