Suryakumar Yadav Breaks Silence On T20 World Cup Super 8 Seeding Controversy: "Tweak It"

Indian cricket team skipper Suryakumar Yadav gave his verdict on the T20 World Cup 2026 pre-seeding system amid the ongoing controversy. The system, which was used to decide the two Super Eight groups, sparked a massive debate among fans as well as experts. Eight teams were assigned seedings before the tournament and if they were able to qualify for the Super Eight stage, their position in the group stage had no impact on their placement in the Super Eight groups. Fans as well as some experts questioned the system and wondered why teams were not rewarded for doing well in the group stages. As a result, all four group winners - India, Zimbabwe, South Africa and West Indies - were put in one group.

Ahead of India's T20 World Cup Super Eight match against South Africa on Sunday, Suryakumar was asked about the seeding system and he gave a measured answer.

"Sir, I don't know anything about this pre seedings, who does it. Definitely as I also said during the last PC, if I am in that situation, I will definitely try and tweak it," he told the media.

However, he quickly added that when it comes to playing and getting accustomed to the venues, the players should not have a problem due to their participation in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

"See everyone has played at this venue. Whoever comes for IPL has played on all the venues."

Meanwhile, Suryakumar was cheeky and sarcastic at the same time when the inevitable query on Abhishek Sharma's hattrick of ducks came up.

"About Abhishek's form, I worry for the people who are worried about Abhishek's form. I worry about them. Why are they so worried about Abhishek's form?"

"Last year, Abhishek covered for all of us. Now it is our duty to cover for him," said Surya, with an obvious reference to his own wretched form that continued for last one year.

For world's No 1 ranked T20 batter Abhishek, the skipper was ready to go that extra mile for what all his junior teammate achieved in the one year run-up to the World Cup.

"But I think about those teams who are going to play against him. That he has not yet scored a run. You know the rest of the answers. When he scores a run, you have seen what happens. It happens, it's a team sport, it keeps going on," he said.

(With agency inputs)

Topics mentioned in this article

India Cricket Team South Africa Cricket Team Suryakumar Yadav Abhishek Sharma T20 World Cup 2026 Cricket