Irfan Pathan believes India are not giving enough credit to one of their most successful T20I captains. As the T20 World Cup 2026 approaches, Pathan feels that Suryakumar Yadav’s role as a leader and batsman has been hugely underestimated, even if the numbers are incredible.
Suryakumar took over India’s T20I captaincy after Rohit Sharma retired from the format in July 2024. Since then, India has looked settled and confident under his leadership. They have won 31 out of 43 matches, won the Asia Cup 2025 and won seven consecutive bilateral series.
Irfan Pathan feels Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy deserves more praise
Even more impressive is the fact that India has not lost a single T20 series since Suryakumar became the captain. Despite remarkable results, there is not much noise about his captaincy.
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Recently, the former Indian all-rounder said that Suryakumar’s biggest strength as a leader is the way he takes care of his bowlers and trusts them in pressure situations, something that reminds him of Rohit Sharma’s style. He even called him the captain of the bowlers.
“We don’t celebrate captain Surya that much for whatever reason. He has a win percentage of 84% as captain of Team India, which is the highest we have had. The way he takes care of the bowlers, I see shadows of Rohit Sharma in him – he is a bowler’s leader,” RevSportz quoted Irfan Pathan as saying.
Suryakumar Yadav’s difficult phase finally ends before T20 World Cup 2026
Last year was not easy for Suryakumar Yadav on the batting front. In 2025, the stylish batsman went through a long dry spell, scoring just 244 runs in 22 innings without a single half-century and averaging less than 14. However, the Indian captain has now regained his form with the bat.
Suryakumar scored consecutive half-centuries in the ongoing five-match T20 series against New Zealand on home soil. As the right-handed batsman is playing fearless cricket once again, Pathan feels his return to form has come at the perfect time, as India prepare to defend the T20 World Cup title from February 7.
The cricket pundit further added, “As a batsman, it was very important for him to feel good about himself and it was equally important to go into the World Cup scoring runs. I had a feeling before the India-New Zealand series that he would score runs here.”
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Middle order impact is the biggest boost for India
Pathan also backed the Indian captain to bat at number four as his impact in the middle overs is exactly what India need in the upcoming showpiece event. He said, “The areas he plays are very difficult for a spinner to control and that is why his strike rate while playing at number four is above 160.”
The former Indian all-rounder mentioned that the strong comeback of players like Ishan Kishan, Jasprit Bumrah, Rinku Singh and Ravi Bishnoi is good news, but Suryakumar Yadav finding form is the biggest boost for India ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026.
Pathan said, “This is the most important positive achievement of the series. The way Suryakumar scored runs is the biggest positive thing for Team India before the World Cup.”
