"Please Help Me": Suryakumar Yadav's Plea To South Africa Great Amid Rough Patch
Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian cricket team's T20I captain, is currently going through a rough patch
- Suryakumar Yadav has scored more than 30 runs only twice in his last nine T20I innings
- The Indian T20I captain hopes South African legend AB de Villiers can guide him to success
- "AB, if you are listening to this, please get in touch with me. Please help me," he said
Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian cricket team's T20I captain, is currently going through a rough patch. In his last nine T20I innings, spread across the Asia Cup 2025 and the ongoing India vs Australia T20I series, Yadav has gone past 30 only twice. On four occasions, he has been stranded in single-digit scores, while once he was out for a duck. Yadav recently guided India to the Asia Cup 2025 triumph. However, the talented batter plays only T20Is. In ODIs, he got opportunities but could not make them count. In 35 ODI innings, he has scored 773 runs at an average of 25.76. He last played an ODI on November 19, 2023.
Yadav admitted he has struggled to find balance in his white-ball game across formats and hopes South African legend AB de Villiers can show him the way.
"If I meet him soon, then I would like to ask him how he managed to balance his T20I and ODI games. I haven't been able to do so. I thought ODIs should be played like T20Is. I want to ask him what he did to be successful in both formats," Suryakumar Yadav said on Vimal Kumar's YouTube channel.
"AB, if you are listening to this, please get in touch with me quickly because there are three or four important years ahead for me. I'm very keen on playing ODI cricket as well. Please help me! I couldn't balance T20Is and ODIs," he added.
India captain Suryakumar Yadav said he felt relief and satisfaction after his side clinched a five-wicket win over Australia in the third T20I, leveling the five-game series 1-1 at the Bellerive Oval on Sunday. India's victory in Hobart was set up by a collective team effort, with Washington Sundar's unbeaten 49 off just 23 balls and Arshdeep Singh's figures of 3-35 in four overs playing pivotal roles. "Yes, it felt like we'd lost 19 or 20 tosses in a row, so it was great to break that streak. Winning the toss was important today, and I'm really happy with how the team performed," he said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Sundar and Arshdeep, along with Jitesh Sharma - who hit an unbeaten 22 in his first T20I since January 2024 - were drafted into the playing eleven for Sunday's game, all of which paid off really well for India.
"Absolutely. Those guys were practising really hard and waiting for their chance. Washi (Washington Sundar) showed great flexibility, Jitesh contributed well, and Arshdeep was outstanding. It felt like the right combination tonight," added Suryakumar.
India Cricket Team