'Why the change': Yadav breaks silence on India snub after T20 World Cup

KARACHI: Experienced batter Suryakumar Yadav has expressed discontent over being dropped as the captain and as a player just two months after leading India to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 glory.

Yadav had been under scrutiny due to his underwhelming individual performances in the format, which saw him score 242 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 136.72 during the 20-team mega event.

His struggles continued in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 campaign, during which he could muster 270 runs in 13 innings at an average of 20.76 and a strike rate of 147.54.

He was eventually replaced by Shreyas Iyer in the role, who, on the other hand, enjoyed a decent IPL stint with the bat, scoring 498 runs at 168.81 in the 2026 edition.

The leadership change, however, did not fare well initially for India as they suffered back-to-back series defeats against Ireland and England until eventually getting back to winning ways in Zimbabwe.

Meanwhile, more than two months after being dropped from India's T20I fold altogether, Yadav finally addressed the selection call, sharing that he was "under the impression" that he would continue leading the Men in Blue in the shortest format for another two years.

"I smiled after spotting that my name isn't there," Yadav told former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra during an interview for the latter's YouTube channel.

"Whenever I have been in pressure situations or when things aren't going in my favour, I've always smiled, relaxed. I have looked back at the moments and been grateful. I didn't think this would happen in 2026.

"I was under the impression that I am preparing to take this team forward for another two years - Olympics, another T20 World Cup and then another challenge going forward."

Although Yadav spoke highly of his successor, Iyer, he highlighted that India did not lose a series for two years during his captaincy tenure and won major tournaments such as the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup and thus questioned the need for the change.

"The guy they've picked, I have played a lot of cricket with him. I know he's a good player, good human being, good captain also," Yadav continued.

"So, I didn't resent the decision but was disappointed because we didn't lose a series for two years, won Asia Cup, T20 World Cup - you want the same thing to go forward. When everything is going well, then why the change?"

The right-handed batter acknowledged his below-par individual performances in this year's IPL and revealed that he was only informed around three days before he was replaced as the India captain, with Indian selectors telling him to "move on" citing his recent struggles in the cash-rich league.

"For one-and-a-half months I kept thinking, how can this happen? How is it possible? We just won the World Cup. Yes, IPL wasn't as good as how I wanted," Yadav said.

"Friends and family consoled me that this is part of life. But once they leave, you are alone with your family. We were thinking, how is it possible?

"They [India selectors] called me two-three days before the team was announced. They said, 'I think it's time to move on. How's it going? You saw what happened in IPL.' I didn't react because it's not my forte.

"Whatever call was taken, the person must've felt it's in the best interest of the team. You took the call, informed me, no harm done."

Yadav, whose last international appearance came in the T20 World Cup 2026 final against New Zealand, shared that he was still willing to play for India, whom he has represented in 151 international matches across formats.

"I am ready, I am still playing, will continue to do so. Whenever you feel the time is right, things are right, call me."