NEW DELHI: As India gear up for the first T20I against South Africa on Tuesday, the spotlight will firmly be on the leadership duo – captain Suryakumar Yadav and vice-captain Shubman Gill – as they look to spark a turnaround in the team’s T20I form.
Suryakumar has looked nothing like the devastating batter who won back-to-back ICC Men’s T20 Player of the Year awards in 2022 and 2023. In 17 T20Is this year, he has managed only 184 runs at an average of 15.33 and a strike rate of 127.77, with 47 being his highest score.
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There were, however, brief reminders of his explosive best during the T20I series against Australia away from home. Surya struck 84 runs in four innings at a brisk strike rate of 171.42, including an unbeaten 39* in a rain-affected match – flashes of the flair that once made him the most feared T20 batter in the world.
Suryakumar is also chasing a major personal milestone. He is on the verge of becoming only the third Indian batsman to cross 3,000 T20I runs, joining Rohit Sharma (4,231) and Virat Kohli (4,188). A strong return to form in this series could see him get there, as he needs just 246 more runs.
Across 95 T20Is, Suryakumar has scored 2,754 runs in 89 innings at an impressive average of 36.72 and a blistering strike rate of 164.41. His tally includes four centuries, 21 fifties, and a career-best of 117, making him India’s third-highest run-scorer in the format.
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Gill, meanwhile, hasn’t hit top gear either since returning to T20Is after last year’s tour of Sri Lanka. Now serving as India’s vice-captain, he has managed just 259 runs in 12 matches at an average of 28.77, striking at 143.09 with a highest score of 47. In fact, six of those innings have ended with scores below 20, highlighting his struggle to convert starts.
Despite the inconsistency, Gill is closing in on a personal milestone. The young opener has 837 runs from 33 T20Is at an average of 29.89 and a strike rate of 140.83, including a century and three fifties, with a best of 126*. He now finds himself within touching distance of the 1,000-run mark in the format.
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