Suryakumar Yadav led India to the T20 World Cup title earlier this year, but the triumphant campaign turned out to be his final assignment as captain after he was removed from the role ahead of the T20I tours of Ireland and England. However, following India’s disappointing run under new skipper Shreyas Iyer, reports suggest the door remains open for Suryakumar’s return to the national side.
Suryakumar was dropped from India’s T20I squad after a lean run with the bat, with the BCCI handing the captaincy to Shreyas Iyer. However, India’s fortunes have declined under the new leadership. The Men in Blue suffered a historic 2-0 series defeat to Ireland before being outplayed 4-0 by England in the five-match T20I series, with the opening match ending in a no-result due to rain.
According to a BCCI source, the selectors have not ruled out Suryakumar’s return, provided he performs consistently in domestic cricket.
“The doors for Suryakumar Yadav are still open. He is not currently in the scheme of things, but he remains eligible to make a comeback if he scores runs consistently in domestic cricket,” a BCCI source said.
India’s defeat in Southampton, where they lost the fifth T20I by 56 runs, capped a miserable tour. Iyer’s side lost the series 4-0 after suffering defeats by four wickets, 125 runs, nine wickets and 56 runs respectively, with the first match abandoned due to rain.
The England debacle followed India’s 2-0 T20I series loss to Ireland earlier in the month—India’s first-ever bilateral T20I series defeat against the Irish. England’s triumph also marked their maiden bilateral T20I series win over India in a contest comprising two or more matches.
India will now shift their focus to the three-match ODI series against England, where senior stars Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah are set to return to the squad as the team looks to bounce back from a disappointing T20I campaign.
