Suryakumar Yadav’s prolonged lean patch with the bat could have ramifications beyond the Indian Premier League, with his T20I captaincy and even his place in the squad likely to come under scrutiny ahead of India’s tour of Ireland next month.

The Hindu understands that India’s T20I succession plan is expected to be informally discussed on the sidelines of the senior national selection committee meeting in Guwahati on May 19. While the meeting has officially been convened to pick the Test squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan, the selectors are also likely to initiate conversations around the T20I set-up for the Ireland and England tours, for which the squad will be selected early in June.

It will be the first in-person meeting of the selection panel since India’s T20 World Cup triumph on March 8 under Suryakumar’s leadership. Initially, a section of the selectors, team management and the BCCI hierarchy had been inclined towards continuing with the winning combination through the Ireland and England assignments.

However, Suryakumar’s “evident struggles” with the bat — first during the World Cup and now in IPL 2026 — have prompted some within the decision-making group to acknowledge that the transition process may need to begin sooner rather than later.

Despite the ODI World Cup in 2027 remaining the larger focus, the 2028 T20 World Cup in Australia and New Zealand presents India with a rare chance to chase a third successive title. With Suryakumar set to turn 36 in September, there is growing belief among stakeholders that he may not remain part of the long-term T20 roadmap.

The challenge, however, lies in succession itself. India do not yet have a clear and proven candidate waiting in the wings.

Suryakumar’s batting numbers have dipped noticeably since taking over as permanent T20I captain in July 2024. Barring a strong IPL 2025 campaign, he has struggled to consistently impose himself with the bat — a downturn that has now spilled into the ongoing season as well.

Nabi in line for maiden Test call-up

Aaqib Nabi is likely to earn a maiden Test call-up after playing a key role in Jammu & Kashmir’s historic Ranji Trophy triumph. With Harshit Rana and Akash Deep unavailable, the selectors are likely to include the swing bowler in the 15-member squad for the Afghanistan Test. It also remains to be seen whether Jasprit Bumrah will be rested for the fixture.

Twenty-four days after launching its Men’s T20 World Cup title defence with a scratchy win over the United States, Suryakumar Yadav’s men returned to the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday night — this time with a semifinal against England looming large.

As the Indian squad went through its fielding drills under lights, the curators quietly covered the 22-yard strip that will dictate fortunes on Thursday. Two days out, the surface wore a greener look than is customary at the Wankhede — even by First-Class standards, let alone a T20 International.

With temperatures climbing steadily over the past fortnight, the decision to retain a healthy grass cover was understandable, a protective measure to prevent the pitch from drying out and breaking up. The pertinent question now is how much of that grass will be shaved off before match time.

Interestingly, while head coach Gautam Gambhir took a close look at the strip before it was covered, none of the Indian players ambled across to inspect it. Perhaps they are content to wait until match day, drawing cues from the two fixtures already played on this surface earlier in the tournament.

The red-soiled surface slated for Thursday’s semifinal was used for England’s clash against West Indies on February 11 and the Italy-Nepal game the following day. On both occasions, it offered assistance to spinners, particularly as the games progressed. Yet, much has changed since then — not least the weather and the stakes.

India’s preference for truer, flatter decks has been indulged through the Super Eights. Whether that pattern continues at the semifinal stage remains to be seen. For now, beneath the covers and the coastal humidity, the Wankhede strip holds its secrets close — waiting to reveal them on the biggest night of India’s campaign.

India captain Suryakumar Yadav dedicated Sunday’s (February 16, 2026) Twenty20 World Cup victory over Pakistan to fans across the country, while his opposite ​number Salman Agha urged perspective after a chastening defeat in a contest that ‌never matched its blockbuster billing.

The much-hyped showdown between the South ​Asian neighbours, who engaged in a military conflict that nearly ⁠snowballed into a fully-fledged war last year, failed to ignite as India racked up 175-7 and then returned to bundle out Pakistan for 114 in 18 overs.

The ‌match itself passed without flashpoints despite the tensions, but there was no shaking of hands between the rival captains at ‌the toss. Both Suryakumar and Salman looked grim when the coin ‌was ⁠flipped and averted eye contact.

The mood was completely different when ⁠the India captain spoke after the match at the R. Premadasa Stadium.

“This is for India. We played the same brand of cricket that we wanted to play,” the batter said, ​sporting a wide grin.

Praise for Ishan Kishan

Suryakumar heaped ‌praise on opener Ishan Kishan whose rapid 77 fashioned their victory.

“The way Ishan Kishan batted is the same as he did in our previous games and on the domestic circuit. Ishan thought outside the ‌box and took responsibility in the powerplay.”

Player of the match Kishan ​conceded it was not just another game for them given the tensions between the nations.

“India v Pakistan is a special ⁠game for us and our country,” Kishan said.

“It is a very important game. They had good spinners and we tried to play good shots. ‌It gives us confidence going ahead in the tournament.”

Salman expected team to do better

The match had been in doubt after Pakistan had decided to boycott it in solidarity with Bangladesh, who refused to tour India over safety concerns and were replaced by Scotland in the 20-team tournament.

The governing International Cricket Council held hectic behind-the-scenes discussions to salvage the fixture even though it ended in a ‌lop-sided contest with India improving their T20 World Cup record against Pakistan to 8-1.

Pakistan ​captain Salman felt his teammates should have done better despite the burden of expectation on their shoulders.

“In these games the emotions ⁠are going to be high but we have played enough cricket,” Salman said. “We ⁠need to get ourselves together and look to the game in a few days’ time. You have to see the big picture. ‌We need to qualify for the Super Eight now.”

Pakistan will need to beat Namibia in their final group game to qualify for ​the Super Eight where the arch-rivals may clash again.

Ishan Kishan’s stunning comeback tale turned even more stunning on Saturday night.

From two years of wilderness to the World Cup squad, it has been a remarkable journey for the man from Jharkhand. Now, the team management may find it difficult to keep him out of the XI in the T20I World Cup starting on February 7.

Kishan did no harm to his prospects in India’s last match before the big event. He scored a sensational maiden T20I hundred in the fifth match of the series against New Zealand as the Men in Blue posted 271 for five and scripted a 46-run win at the Greenfield Stadium.

Kishan (103, 43b, 6×4, 10×6) was brilliant in front of a near-capacity crowd, which may have come more to watch another Indian wicketkeeper-batter. But, local lad Sanju Samson failed yet again.

Samson had to trudge back to the dressing room in the third over; his thick outside edge off Lockie Ferguson found Bevon Jacobs at deep backward point. So, a disappointing series came to a dismal end for the opener who was, interestingly, playing his first ever international match at home, after debuting for India way back in 2015.

Sanju’s partner Abhishek Sharma (30, 16b, 4×4, 2×6), who lofted a glorious drive over the extra cover fence against Jacob Duffy in the first over, was shaping up nicely when he was cleaned up by Ferguson, the quick who was playing hist first game for New Zealand in well over a year.

But, Suryakumar Yadav joined Kishan and initially chose to watch the exceptional hitting from the latter at the other end. The skipper then changed gears at the right time to score his third fifty (63, 30b, 4×4, 6×6), of the series, and his third-wicket partnership with Kishan yielded 137 off just 57 balls.

Kishan completed his hundred off 42 balls, slog-sweeping Mitchell Santner over deep-midwicket. It was an astonishing display of strokemaking, playing all around the wicket.

After the break, Kishan traded his batting gloves with the keeping ones (a sign ahead of the World Cup maybe?). The Kiwis needed something special at the top of order, and the hard-hitting Finn Allen, who joined the squad only a couple of days ago, provided that with a blistering 80 (38b, 8×4, 6×6) and he added 100 for the second wicket with Rachin Ravindra.

He became the first of Axar Patel’s three victims. Arshdeep Singh took five. And India had just the perfect night.

Suryakumar Yadav’s recent lean patch has not shaken his self-belief.

The 35-year-old — who will play his 100th T20I when he leads the Indian side in the first T20I against New Zealand — was his joyous self while fielding pointed questions about his dwindling returns.

When asked how he was working on his game ‘behind the curtains’, a tongue-in-cheek reply ensued: “Parde ke peeche tho nahin kiya mein. Khula ground hee tha. Udar hee batting karne gaya tha. (I did not bat behind the curtain. I batted in an open ground itself),” Suryakumar said, evoking chuckles across the press conference hall at the VCA Stadium.

“I’ve been short of runs. But I can’t change my identity. I have decided to keep doing what I have been doing in the last three or four years, which has given me a lot of success,” Suryakumar said.

The skipper conveyed that his focus was on India’s performance in the five-match series and the upcoming T20 World Cup, and not his individual numbers.

“If I were playing a singles sport like table tennis or lawn tennis, I would have given more thought to it. This is a team sport, and my first responsibility is to know how the team is doing. I’m happy if I perform in the team’s victory. If not, it doesn’t matter, as it can happen. I have to look after the other 14 players also, as I’ve been appointed as the leader of everyone,” he explained.

Suryakumar was quick to point out that the Test and ODI series losses to New Zealand are history, and that India has been doing exceptionally well in the shortest format.

“The Test series loss was long back. The T20Is are about to start, and we’ll talk about that. We’ve been playing this format well. There will be pressure, but where’s the fun in playing if there is no pressure?”

“Batting orders are overrated, except the two openers.”

Head coach Gautam Gambhir reiterated his coaching philosophy recently, and it could soon come under scrutiny. As the national senior selection committee meets at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on Saturday (December 20, 2025) to finalise India’s squad for the T20 World Cup 2026, it is the opening combination that is likely to generate the most debate.

The selection panel, chaired by former India pacer Ajit Agarkar, otherwise faces a relatively straightforward task while picking the squad for the marquee event, to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka in February and March. Since Gambhir took over as head coach in July 2024, the T20I side has emerged as India’s most settled and successful unit across formats.

The one area that has remained unsettled, however, is the opening slot. Ever since Shubman Gill was recalled after a year-long hiatus ahead of the Asia Cup in September, the debate has only intensified.

Gill has scored 291 runs in 15 innings since his return, striking at 137.26, with a 28-ball 47 against Pakistan in the Asia Cup being his highest score. While respectable, the numbers have not fully matched the demands of a modern T20 opener.

Gill’s return came at the expense of Sanju Samson, who had enjoyed a prolific 12-month run at the top of the order, scoring three hundreds.

Yashasvi Jaiswal, meanwhile, remains firmly in contention. Preferred over Gill as the reserve opener for the 2024 T20 World Cup, Jaiswal has strengthened his case by making significant contributions in the limited opportunities he has received in India’s Blues.

The selectors must now decide whether to persist with Gill — also India’s designated vice-captain — and opt for Jaiswal as the reserve opener, or revisit Samson’s role as a wicketkeeper-opener. Ishan Kishan has further complicated matters with a timely resurgence, playing a key role in Jharkhand’s triumphant Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign.

Beyond the opening slot, the reserve wicketkeeper’s position is also up for discussion. While Jitesh Sharma appears certain to be the first-choice wicketkeeper, the battle between Samson and Ishan for the backup role remains open.

Elsewhere, the squad looks largely settled. The only other notable question is whether Rinku Singh, who missed out on the 2024 T20 World Cup squad, will again be overlooked in favour of Washington Sundar.

With the Gambhir-Agarkar combine showing a clear preference for all-rounders over specialists, Washington appears to have the edge.

Agarkar is scheduled to address the media after the selection committee meeting on Saturday (December 20) afternoon.

India would hope that the challenging home assignment against South Africa, which has exposed a few chinks in the armour and thrown up difficult questions on selection, ends on a positive note when the two sides clash in the fifth and final T20 International in Ahmedabad on Friday (December 19, 2025) .

After being blanked 0-2 in the Tests, India bounced back to win the ODI series and now have an unassailable lead 2-1 in the T20Is after the fourth game was abandoned due to poor weather conditions in Lucknow on Wednesday (December 17, 2025).

That India cannot lose the series should be comforting to embattled head coach Gautam Gambhir given that the other two leaders in the camp — skipper Suryakumar Yadav and his deputy Shubman Gill — are battling challenges of their own with less than two months to go for the T20 World Cup.

For someone who was ranked world No. 1 not so long ago, Suryakumar’s form has sharply nosedived in the only format he is assured a place in the XI for India.

Having gone through 18 innings in 20 matches this year without a single half-century while averaging a poor 14.20 for his 213 runs, every failure for Suryakumar is adding to the concerns of the Indian camp.

Adding to it is the Gill conundrum

Gill’s return as vice-captain in the T20I format might have been perceived as one which put Suryakumar on notice a few months ago, but the former’s ordinary run with the bat since his comeback and the latest injury setback only hampers the team’s cause.

A toe injury suffered before the fourth T20I is set to keep Gill out of the final T20I here as India would want to take a cautious route, more so when there is a ready replacement for the top order slot in Sanju Samson.

Earlier, Gill had missed most of the two-Test affair following a injury to his neck which he suffered in the series-opener in Kolkata, something that also highlighted his busy schedule and growing list of responsibilities in Indian cricket across formats.

Samson was never the right fit in the lower order as the lowest he has batted apart from the top slot is at No.5, where the right-handed batter has scored a mere 138 runs in eight matches at an average of 23.

But each of his three T20I centuries and one half-century have come at the top slot in 14 innings, and in case of Gill’s unavailability for the final game, the Kerala wicketkeeper-batter would be keen to make it count.

Aside from this, India have a settled unit with both the all-rounders, Hardik Pandya and Shivam Dube, featuring in all three games so far. In the pace attack, Arshdeep Singh is coming into his elements and is also beginning to forge a partnership with Harshit Rana with the ball.

Meanwhile, Jasprit Bumrah, who missed the third T20I due to personal reasons, joined the team’s camp before the fourth match.

A batting-friendly wicket here will pose a challenge to India’s best bowler in the T20I series, Varun Chakravarthy, who has taken 6 wickets so far.

For South Africa, who have blown hot and cold particularly with the bat in the T20I series, Friday’s (December 19, 2025) contest will be an opportunity to end with the satisfaction of drawing a series against India.

The Proteas could mull over bringing Aiden Markram back in the top order in place of Reeza Hendricks, who hasn’t found his rhythm on this tour.

But at the same time, the visitors would also want the young and dangerous Dewald Brevis to find his form after having ordinary outings in each of the three completed matches in the series.

South Africa have also missed aggressive knocks from Marco Jansen, which made the ODI series such a tightly-contested affair but to their credit, Lungi Ngidi and Ottneil Baartman have done a fair job with the ball.

In his much-quoted essay The Sporting Spirit, George Orwell wrote, “Serious sport has nothing to do with fair play. It is bound up with hatred, jealousy, boastfulness, disregard for rules and sadistic pleasure in witnessing violence: in other words, it is war minus the shooting.” Over the years, an India-Pakistan cricket match has been characterised as war minus the shooting, but seldom by the players, and rarely manifested on the field of play.

When cricket relations resumed after 17 years and India toured Pakistan in 1978, the teams were led by Bishan Bedi and Mushtaq Mohammed, two contemporary greats who played together for Northamptonshire in England. They were firm friends. Yet even in that atmosphere, Cambridge-educated Majid Khan was quoted as saying, “Pakistan is ready for a 1,000-year war with India”. Those days there was no PR machinery that rushed to the aid of players to translate their plain English into palatable prose. No one attempted to interpret that to explain Majid meant “cricket war”, since sports contests were seen as proxies for war.

Warm hospitality

Over the years, journalists from either country have returned to their own with stories of the warm reception they received and the generosity of their hosts. On the 1989-90 tour of Pakistan, when I expressed a desire to visit Mohenjo-daro, I was flown there as a guest, provided with a guide, and taken around. Perhaps the guide was a security person to ensure I didn’t do anything his bosses wouldn’t approve of. No matter, since my interest was historical, not political. On most tours, writers came back with stories of stores refusing to accept money if they bought anything.

It wasn’t all sweetness and light, of course. In Faisalabad on that 1989-90 tour, there were megaphone-wielding speakers urging the public to come to the stadium and disrupt the matches. In Karachi, a one-dayer had to be called off owing to crowd disturbances.

But the sound and fury was orchestrated mainly by those around the matches rather than the players themselves, who were, and continue to be, friends.

And this is where the texture of this Asia Cup has been different. For one, the stadium hasn’t been packed as usual, and it is the players (goaded by their administration) who have taken the lead in keeping the hostility alive, justified or not. The refusal to shake hands or to be seen fraternising with the opposition out of respect for those who fell in Pahalgam and in support of India’s soldiers means that cricket has been forced to behave out of character because politicians don’t want to make the tough decisions. This is in contrast to times when cricket was forced to play the role of peace missions and diplomacy. Cricket for Peace was the motto then.

Politics minus the war

At the Asia Cup, we are witnessing politics minus the war. Perhaps this is better than war thanks to politics. A Sahibzada Farhan pointing his bat like a gun in celebration of a half-century is a better alternative to actual guns pointed at anyone. Mock battles on the cricket field — however ugly they look and however unnecessary — are better than real action on the battlefield where lives, rather than cricket matches are lost.

The Indian team has shown greater maturity (apart from greater skill) by limiting their response to the kind of off-field sledging skipper Suryakumar Yadav indulged in when he said, “Stop calling India-Pakistan matches a rivalry…it’s a no-contest.” He must hope his words don’t come back to bite him at the end of the tournament.

If Pakistan make it to the final, and play India, the temptation to go one-up on the other might be strong. If the response to a handshake not given is a bat pointed like a gun or miming a plane being shot down (this, by Haris Rauf), will the Indian team be practising their mimes to make a point? The notion that sport stands for something beyond itself implies something positive — hope, peace, love — rather than the opposite. It is after all we who paint it in the colours we want.

Someday, an India-Pakistan cricket match will be a boring affair, with nothing memorable on field or off. Just another match, as players sometimes say. But when?

When India skipper Suryakumar Yadav won the toss and opted to bat against Oman in a Group-A fixture of the Asia Cup on Friday (September 19, 2025), a ripple of excitement reverberated around the Zayed Cricket Stadium. After India restricted the opposition to meagre totals on the way to comfortable wins in the first two games, the expectation among the spectators in blue was for Suryakumar’s men to now flex their firepower with the willow and notch up another big victory.

India won by 21 runs to maintain its perfect record going into the Super Four stage, but it wasn’t without anxious moments as the men from the Middle East showed ample resistance in the final game of the preliminary phase.

Impressive reply

Chasing 189, Oman’s Aamir Kaleem and Hammad Mirza impressed with their application. While the 43-year-old Kaleem hit a 46-ball 64, Mirza’s brisk 51 took 33 deliveries.

An opening stand of 56 between Kaleem and Jatinder Singh came at a steady pace, but it was with Mirza’s arrival that Oman’s pursuit gathered some momentum.

The duo put together 93 runs for the second wicket.

Looking ahead, India will hope Axar Patel’s injury is not serious. In the 15th over of the chase, the all-rounder was back-pedalling from mid-off in an attempt to catch Mirza when he hit the ground and hurt his head. He didn’t return to the field thereafter.

The changes

That India was in the mood for experimentation in this dead rubber was evident from the outset. Jasprit Bumrah and Varun Chakaravarthy were rested in order to give game time to Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana. Suryakumar chose to go unused at No. 11 in India’s total of 188 for eight.

For the eight-time continental champion, Sanju Samson top-scored at No. 3 with 56, but he would readily admit this wasn’t one of his more fluent efforts. He didn’t manage to hit top gear at any stage of his knock.

After Shubman Gill’s early dismissal, Abhishek Sharma (38, 15b, 5×4, 2×6) stamped his presence on proceedings.

With Oman daring to give left-arm spinner Shakeel Ahmed a second over in the PowerPlay with the southpaw on strike, the 25-year-old from Punjab took toll with two fours and a six.

If Samson was rusty at the other end after not batting in India’s first two fixtures, it showed. His first 11 deliveries yielded just nine runs despite a wristy flick for six to an overpitched ball from Shah Faisal. Abhishek persisted with his onslaught, punishing Mohammad Nadeem’s medium-pace for 19 runs in the fifth over.

Double blow

A hiccup in the eighth over saw India lose Abhishek and Hardik Pandya in the space of three balls. While Abhishek chased a very wide ball from Jiten Ramanandi only to nick it to the wicketkeeper, Hardik, promoted to No. 4, was run out when Samson’s shot flicked the bowler’s hand on the way and hit the stumps at the non-striker’s end.

Samson and Axar got India back on track with a 45-run alliance off 23 deliveries. The latter raced to 26 before inside-edging Kaleem to Vinayak Shukla behind the wicket.

Tilak Varma, held back till the fall of the fifth wicket, chipped in with an 18-ball 29.