Suryakumar Yadav's poor performance in IPL 2026, averaging just 19.50, raises concerns about his future in the Indian team ahead of the 2028 T20 World Cup. Selectors are focusing on his batting form rather than his captaincy.
Key points
Suryakumar Yadav averages 19.50 in IPL 2026
His average has dropped from over 65 last season
Selectors are focusing on his batting form
Shreyas Iyer is a frontrunner to replace him as captain
MI star SKY averages just 19.50 in IPL 2026, a steep fall from 65+ last season.
India selectors watching his batting, not captaincy, ahead of Ireland tour.
PBKS skipper Shreyas Iyer emerging as a frontrunner with latest reports suggesting Suryakumar Yadav is likely to be removed as captain for the Ireland and England series.
The captain's crisis: Is Suryakumar Yadav running out of time?
India's T20 skipper, Suryakumar Yadav, is sitting on the biggest trophy in the game, yet his place in the squad for 2028 is anything but guaranteed.
There is a particular kind of pressure that only the best face, the pressure that comes not from failing, but from no longer being as brilliant as you once were. That is where Suryakumar finds himself in the summer of 2026.
In this edition of IPL, Suryakumar has managed just 195 runs at an average of 19.50 in 10 appearances.
This is a steep fall in form compared to his exceptional 2025 campaign, where he averaged over 65. He was once the most destructive batter in the world, the one bowlers' nightmare about, but he is now averaging less than most domestic cricketers would be satisfied with.
Q&A
What is Suryakumar Yadav's IPL 2026 batting average?
Suryakumar Yadav averages just 19.50 in IPL 2026.
Who is likely to replace Suryakumar Yadav as captain for the Ireland series?
Shreyas Iyer is emerging as a frontrunner to replace Suryakumar Yadav as captain for the Ireland series.
How has Suryakumar Yadav's form changed from last season?
Suryakumar Yadav's average has dropped significantly from over 65 last season to 19.50 this season.
Are selectors prioritizing captaincy or batting form for Suryakumar Yadav?
Selectors are currently focusing on Suryakumar Yadav's batting form rather than his captaincy.
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His recent streak includes two ducks and no score above 40 in his last five innings. In his latest outing against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he could score only five.
Hence, despite steering India to a historic T20 World Cup title retention, Suryakumar now finds himself under the scanner.
Is BCCI looking at Suryakumar Yadav's alternatives?
Since taking over in July 2024, Suryakumar has won 80.76% of his matches across 52 games. It is a record that eclipses both Rohit Sharma's 79.33% win rate and MS Dhoni's legendary numbers.
Yet, the BCCI and selectors are not sitting still. According to a source speaking to PTI, it is his batting, not his leadership, that will be under the microscope when India tour England and Ireland in June-July.
"Obviously Surya is now leading the team. But he also has to ensure that as a batter, he maintains a level of consistency in his performances. Obviously, he will lead in the UK but after that, discussions going forward till 2028 could be purely performance-based," a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Following his knock of 84 not out against the USA in the T20 World Cup opener, Suryakumar has scored just 315 runs at an average of 21 and a strike rate of 132, with only one fifty to his name. For a player once ranked world number one and renowned for his 360-degree hitting, those numbers represent a troubling pattern, not a brief bad patch.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir reportedly backs Suryakumar as captain, but the question of whether chief selector Ajit Agarkar and his panel share that view is far less settled.
Latest Times of India reports suggest Suryakumar will be removed as skipper for the Ireland and England series with Iyer taking over the captaincy starting with the UK T20I tour.
Shreyas Iyer emerges as potential replacement to Suryakumar Yadav
Shreyas Iyer, meanwhile, has emerged as the frontrunner to take over the T20I captaincy should the selectors decide to go in a new direction. Iyer brings top-quality leadership credentials to the table. He took Delhi Capitals to an IPL final in 2020, won the title with Kolkata Knight Riders in 2024, and guided Punjab Kings to a runner-up finish in 2025. And in this season, PBKS have lost just one match.
There is also the age factor. Suryakumar will be pushing 38 by the time the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics come around. It is an age at which most T20 specialists are winding down, not leading their countries in the format's biggest tournaments.
Whereas Iyer is currently 31 and has at least five years of top-level cricket left in him.
The Cricket News Opinion: Don't write Suryakumar off just yet, but don't look away either
Suryakumar has been here before. His entire career has been a story of bouncing back harder than anyone expected.
He waited years for his India call-up, then became the fastest player ever to reach the top of the T20I rankings. He had a difficult 2025 before finding form again in early 2026. The man knows how to resurrect himself.
But the window is tighter now than it has ever been. Two ducks and a sub-20 average in IPL is not a blip in the matrix; it is a signal that the system needs fixing, and fast.
The England tour will be an acid test. If SKY goes there and fires, this conversation goes quiet. If he does not, the BCCI will face a choice it would rather not make whether to retain a captain who wins but cannot score, or hand the future to someone who does both.
For all his achievements, the World Cup wins, the record captaincy figures, the years of being India's most exciting batter, Suryakumar now has to do the hardest thing in sport. He has to prove it all over again.
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