Suryakumar was awarded POTS for his 242 runs in five matches, which came at a strike rate of 196.74.
Suryakumar Yadav led India to a 4-1 victory over New Zealand in the T20I series, earning Player-of-the-Series accolade and boosting confidence ahead of the T20 World Cup 2026.
During the series finale at Thiruvananthapuram, the hosts racked up a gigantic 271/5 in 20 overs on the back of Ishan Kishan’s maiden T20I hundred (103 off 43 balls). Kishan's knock, which came at a strike rate of nearly 240, was studded with six fours and 10 sixes. Suryakumar smashed 63 off 30 balls, while Hardik Pandya returned with 42 off 17.
Chasing the target, New Zealand got off to a fiery start, thanks to Finn Allen's 80 off 38, but they lost the plot after his dismissal. Arshdeep Singh’s five-wicket haul and Axar Patel’s three scalps helped India bundle out the Kiwis for 225 in 19.4 overs.
Following the match, Suryakumar was awarded POTS for his 242 runs in five matches, which came at an average of 80.66 and a strike rate of 196.74.
“It feels really good. It’s been a long year and a long wait for moments like this. I’ve always dreamed about when this time would come. You (Murali Kartik) actually said it before the last series in Ahmedabad - when SKY is there, don’t fear,” Surya said at the post-match presentation.
“I just kept doing the same things I’d been doing over the last year, stuck to my routines. I knew I wasn’t out of form, just out of runs. It’s been a very good series, and going into the World Cup feeling like this is really special,” he added.
Suryakumar endured a tough time with the bat in T20Is last year, scoring 218 runs across 21 matches and 19 innings at an average of just over 13, with the best score of 47* to his credit.
“I think the sky wasn’t blue for a year, (smiles). But that’s life. It’s part of the journey. I took it in my stride, went back to the drawing board, tried to understand what was going wrong. After the last series, I got two or three weeks where I spent time with close friends - they told me a few important things I needed to follow. That’s a sportsperson’s life. I’ve seen so many careers - not just in cricket - where people go through these phases. I knew my time would come if I kept doing the small things right. I’m really happy with how things have turned out,” he remarked.
Team India will enter the T20 World Cup 2026 as a formidable contender to retain their title. The Men in Blue haven’t lost a T20I series under Suryakumar-Gautam Gambhir regime, boasting an impressive win-loss record of 33-5.
The captain is happy with how things are shaping up. “Definitely. Whether you win or lose, you always take something from the game. When we go back to Mumbai and play a warm-up game against South Africa, we’ll sit down and analyse the last five games and the year as a whole - what we’ve done well and what we can improve. Then we start our campaign,” Surya said.
“This format is really hard on bowlers - I completely understand that. When you score big runs, you have to expect the opposition to come hard at you. As a captain and as a bowling unit, you’re always under pressure. The key is having good plans. It’s all part of the learning process. We’ll sit down, talk it through, and move forward,” he concluded.
India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign on February 7 against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium. They have been drawn in Group A along with the USA, Pakistan, the Netherlands and Namibia.