Has captaincy burden resulted in Suryakumar Yadav's T20I slump? Here's what stats say

Captaincy a burden on SKY's form [Source: AFP Photo]

Yet another T20I match and another failure for India’s captain, Suryakumar Yadav. This year has not been kind to the right-handed batter as he is yet to register a single fifty-plus score in the game’s shortest format; moreover, the runs have dried up, which is a worrying sign for the Men in Blue.

While most of the other Indian batters have piled on runs this year, SKY, the middle-order batter, is yet to find his feet as the year-end approaches. In 2025, he has only racked up 140 runs in 14 matches, with an average of 14 and a strike rate of 113.82. The question arises, is the captaincy burden taking a toll on Surya's T20I form?.

In this piece, we will decode Suryakumar's T20I stats before he became the captain and after his appointment.

Suryakumar Yadav's T20I stats before captaincy

(SKY T20I stats before captaincy)

• Before taking over the captaincy responsibilities, Suryakumar Yadav had a stellar T20I record for India, and he was clearly the best batter in this format by a country mile and the stats tell the story.
• He had 2040 runs, with an average of 43.40, and an astonishing strike-rate of 168.17. He had multiple fifties and centuries and was India’s biggest match-winner alongside Virat Kohli.
• Without any captaincy burden, SKY was the undisputed King of T20I format as the bowlers feared him and he played a free-flowing game. However, the numbers differ after taking the captaincy mantle.

Suryakumar Yadav's T20I stats after captaincy

(SKY stats after captaincy)

• Under his own leadership, Suryakumar’s numbers have dipped, and he looks like a pale shadow of his former self. While the strike rate still remains over 150, the average has gone down massively (25.76), and the runs have dried up as well.
• He has 670 runs in 31 matches, while only mustering four fifties and a solitary hundred under his leadership.

Why Surya's numbers have dipped as the T20I captain?

• Captaincy pressure: Before becoming the skipper, SKY played with zero pressure as there were no leadership responsibilities. However, he hogged the limelight after becoming the leader of the side as the weight of expectations increased.
• Not every player can deliver under pressure, and SKY has so far faltered as the captaincy pressure has taken a toll on his brilliant free-flowing batting.
• Shuffle in batting order: Before becoming the captain of the T20I side, Suryakumar’s batting position was fixed, and he had a clear-cut role in the side. However, the captaincy appointment changed everything. No longer is there a fixed position, as he shuffles across different batting positions, and this has hampered his batting.

Final verdict

With the T20 World Cup in a few months' time, Surya faces a race against time to get his mojo back. Once the undisputed best in the T20I format, SKY’s numbers have dipped due to captaincy burden, and the right-handed explosive batter needs to get his old form back for India’s benefit.

If he is under pressure, if he is out of form, it would affect India’s batting combination and the team cannot afford this slip-up, especially with the World Cup looming closer.

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