Irfan Pathan, the champion of the 2007 T20 World Cup, claimed that Suryakumar Yadav‘s outstanding captaincy record for India has not received enough recognition from the cricket community. On Wednesday, December 17, the fourth Twenty20 International between South Africa and India was called off because of too much fog in Lucknow. Under Suryakumar Yadav’s leadership, this outcome assisted the Men in Blue in preserving their undefeated record in T20I series.
South Africa’s trip will end on Friday, December 19, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, with the hosts leading the five-match series 2-1.
Pathan acknowledged the South African team’s efforts and recognised that they put pressure on India at different points throughout the series.
For this reason, I frequently argue that we don’t give Suryakumar Yadav’s captaincy the credit it deserves. His batting has been greatly appreciated. While talking about India’s undefeated T20I series run under Suryakumar’s leadership, veteran India all-rounder Pathan said, “This 83% result in captaincy is extremely special, even though he definitely lacks form in batting right now.”
“Not every T20 captain can accomplish this. Suryakumar deserves a lot of praise, and it’s not as if South Africa didn’t exert pressure. In this series, they exert pressure. You were under pressure in the last match, but you came back,” he continued.
Pathan advised Suryakumar to “play straight for a while.”
Suryakumar has excelled as a skipper, but his batting performance, particularly in 2025, has fallen short. He has only amassed 213 runs at an average of 14.20 and a strike rate of 125.29 in 18 T20I innings this year.
Regarding Suryakumar’s poor performance, Pathan advised the 35-year-old to give himself some time at the crease before attempting his huge shots.
What has been the strength of Suryakumar? He performs admirably when he is square of the wicket. When facing quick bowlers, he doesn’t move his feet much. He is being worked out a bit more by teams. They’re bowling at different speeds. The slower ones are being used a lot. He must therefore refute that,” he answered.
Second, there appears to be a pattern of his attending his favourite shots too frequently and too early. Can he hold off on making his favourite shots for a bit longer? For a while, play straight. You could ask him to go forward while facing fast bowlers. It’s been a long time since he did that. With the World Cup coming up, how will he manage it now? Pathan went into further detail.
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