Suryakumar Yadav: Batsman who pushed boundaries, captain who crossed a few of them

There are a few firsts that thankfully no one can match. At the dramatically eventful Asia Cup last year, he refused to shake hands with the rival captain at the toss, avoided post-match pleasantries and turned the end of the tournament award ceremony into a farce by refusing to receive the trophy.

Pakistan’s captain Salman Agha, right, walks past India’s captain Suryakumar Yadav after the coin toss ahead of the Asia Cup cricket match between India and Pakistan at Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP Photo)

Suryakumar’s actions in that game against Pakistan, makes him a path-breaker – a disruptor who unabashedly mixed sports and politics. India, under Suryakumar, lacked the nuance, grace and maturity that sportspersons carry to the field when thrown in a difficult situation.

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Asia Cup happened with tensions on the Indo-Pak border, Operation Sindoor still fresh in the minds of the two nations. This wasn’t new, India and Pakistan cricketers in the past have taken the field in times of war. Over the years, players from both sides haven’t allowed political acrimony to dictate their behaviour on field.

Regardless of the outcome of the game or the importance of the moment, they have shook hands, hugged after games and even joked while bunched together at the award ceremony. Google the viral video of Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh laughing their guts out listening to a very animated Shoaib Malik after the Champions Trophy final in 2017. From those endearing frames it was impossible to fathom which team had won the game.

It was not so at the Asia Cup, where Suryakumar would make a few disparaging comments about the losing side and also take a stab at cricket’s most storied rivalry. It had started with a modest query from a Pakistan journalist that had no mention of the rivalry. It was after India’s second win over their arch rivals in the tournament.

Reporter: Do you think that Pakistan competed better this time?

Suryakumar: I want to say one thing: You should stop asking this question about rivalry. If two teams play 15 to 20 matches and it is 7-7 or 8-7 and they are playing good cricket then it is called a rivalry. If it is 10-1, or whatever it is … it is no longer a rivalry.

Those audacious last five words would have sunk the hearts of fans who relish cricket contests with a past and fight. Not to mention the TV broadcasters who in Suryakumar’s words heard the last wailing quack of their golden goose. In sports, responsible captains don’t make sweeping statements or indulge in one upmanship. That’s what juvenile fans do.

Those audacious last five words from Suryakumar about the India-Pakistan rivalry would have sunk the hearts of fans who relish cricket contests with a past and fight. Not to mention the TV broadcasters who in Suryakumar’s words heard the last wailing quack of their golden goose. (ANI Photo)

Suryakumar never came across as someone known to say anything remotely hurtful or controversial. His teammates and reporters who have covered him since his junior days see him as an affable man. A die-hard fan of goofy Bollywood comedies, he has a movie dialogue for every occasion. He was into funny retorts, never ugly rebukes.

It was this Suryakumar that had taken the 2022 World T20 in Australia by storm. Cricket wasn’t ready for a batsman who went down on one knee and swept a 145 kph ball for a six over square leg. He had the ramp stroke and also the reverse ramp. Suryakumar could also use his hands like the arm of a mechanized excavator – JCB to the world – to lob the ball behind his head, over the wicket-keeper and into the stands. He was a riot.

Suryakumar Yadav bats during the 2022 T20 World Cup match between India and Netherlands. (AP Photo)

Growing up, Suryakumar was a classical batsman groomed on the Mumbai maidans under strict coaches. In the T20 era, he would dismantle his game to find new scoring zones. Surya, in his prime, was not an art film doing festival circuits, he was an all-out entertainer that ran to packed houses. The fans loved him for he reminded them of their street cricket days and the strokes they dreamt of playing but could never pull off. Runs put him in captaincy contention.

He got lucky and got a lucky break. He was put in charge of a settled team that had found a winning formula. Captain Rohit Sharma had given the team a template that really suited them. The all-aggressive batting approach – falling wickets was no reason to slow down – worked wonders. The proven match winners – Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy – too were the trusted fire-fighters in the bowling department. Though Surya should get credit for marshalling and managing the champion side, it was this that helped him lift the World T20 Trophy despite his long run slump.

On that magical March night in Ahmedabad, Suryakumar thought his long loss of form would be forgotten by those celebrating the historic win. At the post-win media conference, he had dared to dream. He spoke about the Olympic gold at Los Angeles 2028 and success at the World T20 after that.

Next day, in a long interview, he said how after “winning this World Cup as captain … my life will change again.” It certainly did but not the way he thought. These days in Indian cricket, those not scoring runs aren’t advised to plan too far ahead.