CHENNAI: When Suryakumar Yadav took over from Rohit Sharma, he was No 1 T20I batter. It was what made him the eventual successor to the throne, even if Hardik Pandya had greater credentials as a leader in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Cut to now, Surya has completed a full T20 WC circle without losing a single series or tournament and in the process made history, becoming the first captain to win the title on home soil.
Nine wins (seven bilaterals and two multi-nation events) and all of it in a span of 19 and a half months. Surya's record as India's T20I captain is unparalleled to say the least and the mumbers say as much. Only four captains have led India in more than 50 T20Is — Rohit, Surya, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni, and Surya leads the tally with a win-loss ratio of over 5 followed by Rohit's 4.08.
No matter the opposition, no matter the depth of this Indian team, especially in the last 24 months, it is impossible to move past Surya's contribution as a leader and how he persevered through the tough times. For the better part of his tenure, Surya could not buy a run. He kept saying that he was out of runs and not form. He kept oozing positivity in press conferences, even trying to be funny a little too much, to an extent where it felt forced at times.
Not on the early hours of Monday morning. A little over an hour after making history in Ahmedabad, Surya sat next to head coach Gautam Gambhir reflecting on the past 18 months. "I think it is important to understand that you will definitely fail more times than you succeed in sports," he said. He knows it as much as anyone. After a poor run for more than a year, he finally found form just before the T20 WC and went on to score more than 300 runs in the title win. Which is why, he could instill the same belief in the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma and the rest whenever they struggled. Without Rohit and Virat, he became the elder figure of the team, lending a shoulder to the teammates in need.
"I saw it last year in 2025. Whole year I couldn't get a 50. It took me 400-plus days to get a 50 for India. But that's what I told the boys, the same thing. Ups and downs will definitely keep on coming in sport. But you have to respect the game, you have to try and spend time with all good people around you. That's more important. Be true to yourself. You can't cheat the man in the mirror when you get up in the morning or you're going to sleep. So those small things are very important to understand them, to take them out, as I rightly said, for dinners, to spend time with them, understand them, what are their strengths, what are their weaknesses.
"All these small, small things which we do off the field, I think when we come on the field that actually gives you a lot of confidence, that gives them a lot of composure. And also I feel you need to understand each character in the team. So, everyday everyone is different, they bring a different skill to the table. So, you need to speak to them, their temperaments, and understand them. That is actually very important and that's what we did throughout the last one and a half years, two years. We wanted to understand how these people are, when do we press the pedal, when do we leave them. I think that is very important and that is what we did," the skipper added.
One of the aspects of stepping up as a leader was also working along with Gambhir, who had drawn polarising opinions, especially because of his below-par record as red-ball coach. Here, however, things were different. Surya knew Gambhir from the time he was the up and coming youngster in KKR where the latter was the captain. "We were always on the same page since we started working together. From the Sri Lanka series, when we went to Sri Lanka, from then till now, I don't remember any time we had an argument over a player. Whether we should play a particular player or not. We both were always interested in making the team win. How we can put a player in a position that can benefit the team. Our goal was to achieve something good together. That's why we were comfortable with any selection call. He will take two steps, I will take two steps and we will meet somewhere in the middle," Surya explained.
These calls include backing Samson to the hilt for 12 months, accommodating Shubman Gill at the top before taking a pragmatic call to bring the Kerala batter back. Surya and Gambhir realised in this format, form is more important than reputation and it showed as they pushed Ishan Kishan first before taking a tactical call. Every such call had an impact. And it mattered to the captain. "They responded very well throughout the last two years. The brand of cricket which we wanted to play, I think it was important to sit together and understand what this team demands. Performing their roles, understanding their responsibilities, chipping in at the right time, talking to each player when someone is not doing well. That is more important for me. Those are the players who at the right time will do something special for you like how Abhishek did just now and Sanju did in the last three games. So all these things really matter to me. If you don't listen to everyone, you can't take everyone together and win a trophy," said Surya.
While no one knows what lies ahead and how long before the baton is passed on, Surya can stand up and say that he did what was asked of him but he is not done. "Definitely the next goal is Olympics gold and also the T20 World Cup that year. Don't forget," he laughed. This time, it did not feel forced. For Surya is a T20 World Cup winning captain for India and no one can take it away from him.
