Despite leading India to T20 World Cup title earlier this year, Suryakumar Yadav was left out the national squad following an extended dip in form.
Surya couldn’t score a T20I half-century last year, and also failed to leave a mark against the top-ranked teams during India’s triumphant T20 World Cup campaign. The 35-year-old carried his poor form into the IPL 2026, where he scored 270 runs in 13 innings at a low average of 20.77 for the Mumbai Indians (MI).
As a result, Suryakumar didn’t only lose T20I captaincy to Shreyas Iyer but was completely sidelined from the setup.
In a recent interaction with Aakash Chopra on the latter’s YouTube channel, Suryakumar Yadav contemplated quitting cricket before his wife helped him rediscover his passion for the game.
“There are moments in life when God tests your mettle. For 40-50 days I was at home, doing nothing. I was in complete shock and contemplating whether I should continue playing or stop, what is the way forward? A lot of things were going on in my mind," Suryakumar said.
“One day, my wife said just think about why you started playing this game because you were mad, had passion. She said then reignite that passion," he added.
However, Surya continued to deal with uncertainty. "I said I have the passion but then what is the road forward? I can’t see anything, it’s all foggy," he stated.
“Then she put it in another way, ‘Just think about what has happened with you in the last five years. People play for 10-15-20-25 years and they don’t get to achieve what you have in the last five years. You played five World Cups, twice won ICC Player of the Year award in T20Is, were no.1 ranked batter, won 2024 T20 World Cup, took that catch that changed your life, won World Cup in India. People take years to achieve this and you ended up doing that in five years. So be grateful'," he recalled.
Surya has now channeled his initial disappointment into motivation. “I said ‘Yeah, I am grateful but what next?’ She then said start going to the gym, play tennis-ball cricket, spend time with friends and slowly you will find that drive. 2-3 months later, the drive returned. Thought I will play for my daughter now," he said.
“I have started training, started batting, back in full flow like I used to. Now, nobody knows what’s in store. If they (selectors) have made the call right now, it can change later. You never know. You have to be optimistic," he further remarked.
Suryakumar Yadav emphasized his desire to entirely focus on T20 cricket, admitting he previously struggled to grasp or succeed in the ODI format.
“I want to play cricket. I know how to play this format. I don’t want to talk about ODIs because I’ve tried a lot and didn’t crack it. I have played a lot of cricket in the past 4-5 years and continue playing this format," he said.
Surya has chosen to push harder with only a few years left in his career, after which he can finally relax
“After four years, I will relax anyway. Whatever time is left, I will continue playing with the same passion as I have. That love, drive, focus, discipline is back and I am on track."
