Middle-order Suryakumar Yadav is one of the key players for India in the white ball cricket for past couple of years. He is one of the most explosive batsmen in the T20 Format.
He certainly adds a lot of value to the T20I side with his aggressive stroke play.India has a legacy of producing aggressive players like Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni.
In the Indian Premier League, Suryakumar Yadav has been premier performer for Mumbai Indians in the batting department. He has been instrumental in helping Mumbai Indians win three trophies in the past decade or so. The right-hander has shown immense composure and talent to consistently produce runs for India at the top of the innings.
Given Rohit Sharma’s recent struggles in the T20 Format, Suryakumar Yadav has emerged as one of the main players for India this season. He will be looking to show consistency with the bat and help India win more T20I matches.
Here, we look in detail about the progress of Suryakumar Yadav progress as player for India in the T20 Format.
T20I Career
After being experienced campaigner at the domestic level, Suryakumar Yadav was included in India ’s T20 squad for ICC 2021 T20 World Cup. He made his T20 debut for India on 14th 2021 against England.
He his second appearance in the T20 Format, Suryakumar Yadav played well against England and scored 57 runs off 31 balls with the help of six fours and three sixes.
Breakthrough season
Since 2021, Middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav has been regular for India in the T20 format. In 2021, Suryakumar Yadav scored 244 runs in 11 innings at an average of 34.85 with three half-centuries.
This year, Suryakumar Yadav has been nothing short of sensational in the T20 Format. In 31 T20Is played for India this season, middle-order batsman has scored 1,164 runs at an average of 46.56 with two centuries and nine half-centuries to his name.
On 12th July 2022, Suryakumar Yadav notched up his maiden century in the T20 Format. He scored 117 runs off 55 balls with the help of fourteen fours and six sixes against a strong England attack.
Overall, Suryakumar has played 42 T20I matches for India till now. With the bat, Suryakumar Yadav has accumulated 1408 runs in 21 innings at an average of 44.00 with two centuries and twelve half-centuries.
Leading run-scorer for India in the T20 World Cup
India were knocked out of the semis of the ICC T20 World Cup after a 10-wicket thrashing by eventual champions England in Adelaide.
But despite that, many believed that the Men-in-Blue had a pretty average campaign where their only significant victory came against arch-rivals Pakistan, that too was largely down to Virat Kohli’s breathtaking innings where he single-handedly took his team over the line.
Despite all that negativity surrounding the team’s performance, one player rose to the occasion and showcased his talent unlike many and he was Suryakumar Yadav.
The 32-year-old finished the competition as the third-highest run-getter with 239 runs in six innings at an average of 59.75, which included three half-centuries as well.
The most aspiring thing from Yadav was his outstanding strike-rate of 189.68 which was the best amongst all the batters in the competition who managed to face at least 50 balls in the tournament.
Sublime performances against South Africa, Zimbabwe and Netherlands
His best knock in the competition came against South Africa on a bouncy Perth pitch where he smashed 68 off just 40 balls with the help of six fours and three sixes.
Besides a scintillating performance against Proteas, he scored 51 runs off 38 balls against Netherlands. In the final round-robin match against Zimbabwe, Suryakumar scored a sublime 61 not out off 44 balls with the help of six fours and four sixes.
Recently, Suryakumar Yadav scored a scintillating hundred against New Zealand in a T20I match played in New Zealand. Clearly Suryakumar Yadav is one of the most explosive players for India in the T20 Format and will be one of the leading players in the batting department in the coming years.
The team management will be hoping that he can continue his merry ways with the bat for India in the T20 Format in the coming season.