Indian cricket is heading into the 2025 T20 World Cup with one glaring red flag - its captain is badly out of form. And the numbers aren’t just concerning; they’re damning.
This year’s list of India’s top T20I run contributors paints a brutal picture. Abhishek Sharma has carried the batting load with maturity and intent, and sits at the top of the list by contributing 29.4% of India's runs. He is followed by Tilak Varma, who has scored 16.7% of the runs, while Shubman Gill has contributed 14.6% runs for Team India.
Suryakumar Yadav, the captain, is all the way down at No. 5, contributing a meagre 8.2% of India’s T20I runs in 2025. Even Axar Patal is above him on the list with 8.8% - a statistic no top-order batter, let alone a captain, should ever be associated with.
So, when Surya said after the last game, “We can’t rely on Abhishek Sharma all the time,” he wasn’t wrong. But the uncomfortable truth is this: India also can’t keep carrying a captain who’s offering almost nothing with the bat.
Surya’s last 20 T20I innings: 21, 4, 1, 0, 12, 14, 0, 2, 7*, 47*, 0, 5, 12, 1, 39*, 1, 24, 20, 12, 5
This reads like a crisis report. Just 227 runs, an average of 13.3, a strike rate below 120, and not a single fifty. This isn’t a dip. This is a freefall.
And it becomes even more alarming when you realise he’s not just any player - he’s the one leading the side. A captain’s job isn’t just to throw strategic one-liners at press conferences; it’s to set the standard with performances. On that front, Surya’s contribution is almost non-existent.
In the list of lowest T20I batting averages by a captain in a calendar year, Suryakumar Yadav currently sits at third, averaging just 14.3 in 2025. This means that no other captain has averaged lesser than him in the shortest format this year so far. This isn’t the kind of company India wants its skipper to keep months before a global tournament.
After the South Africa series, India will have only New Zealand left to play before the World Cup. The window for experimentation is almost shut, and right now, India’s top-order has a glaring hole - its captain is not scoring runs, not anchoring innings, and not setting any example.
This isn’t about form anymore. This is about accountability. If the “Skyfall” continues, India could walk into the T20 World Cup with its most influential position - No. 3, and the captaincy, being its weakest link. And in a tournament where margins are razor-thin, that’s a catastrophe waiting to happen.
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