“I Had Become Good At It”: Suryakumar Yadav Details Why T20 Cricket Remains His Natural Format
India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav recently reflected on his multi-format cricket career, identifying the 20-over game as his most natural fit. While Yadav played a starring role in India’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup victory in 2024 under Rohit Sharma’s leadership, his professional journey began in traditional red-ball cricket.
Finding Comfort in T20s
In a recent interview with PTI, Yadav discussed his progression through different cricket formats. Despite a strong foundation in first-class cricket, the aggressive batter found his rhythm in the shortest format.
“What is written in your life, you get that only. I started with red-ball cricket itself, played Ranji Trophy for 10-12 years. I played a lot of red-ball cricket in Bombay because if you grow up in Bombay, you start with red ball itself,” Yadav stated.
As his career advanced, white-ball cricket took priority. Yadav noted that his attempts to adapt to One-Day Internationals (ODIs) did not yield the desired results. “The way T20 was working out for me, I had become good at it. You can say that (usme apna haath set ho gaya hai),” he added.
The Challenge of ODI Cricket
Yadav maintains a candid perspective on his struggles in the 50-over format. He attributes the difficulty to the pacing required across a 50-over innings.
“It is a format where you have to bat in three different ways,” Yadav explained. “Sometimes if you go in early, if wickets fall quickly, then you have to bat like Test cricket. Then you have to bat with a good strike rate like a One Day and then later at the end of the innings, you have to bat like the T20 format. I tried my best to play it, but it’s a challenging format.”
Career Statistics Overview
Yadav’s performance metrics clearly highlight his dominance in the 20-over format compared to 50-over cricket.
| Format | Matches | Runs | Average | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T20I | 68 | 2,340 | 42.54 | 167.14 |
| ODI | 37 | 773 | 25.76 | 105.02 |
| First-Class | 82 | 5,628 | 43.62 | 63.15 |
Data sourced from ESPN Cricinfo records.
World Cup Experiences
Yadav’s last ODI appearance came during the BCCI-hosted 2023 Cricket World Cup final against Australia, where he scored 18 runs off 28 deliveries. Despite the defeat, he praised the tournament’s atmosphere.
“When I was with the team for the 2023 ODI World Cup, the whole atmosphere of that format, the build-up going into the final was completely different than what we played in the 2022 and 2024 T20 World Cups,” Yadav said. “ODI cricket has a different charm, T20 has a different one.”