Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh has highlighted Suryakumar Yadav’s poor form with the bat as one of the key factors behind India’s 26-run loss to England in the third T20I in Rajkot on Tuesday, January 29. While Harbhajan acknowledged Yadav’s aggressive batting style, he emphasized the lack of consistency in recent matches.
This loss marked India’s first T20I defeat at home in 426 days. Yadav’s scores in the series so far have been disappointing—0 (3), 12 (7), and 14 (7)—with similar dismissals in both the first and third T20Is, caught behind by wicketkeeper Phil Salt off pacers Jofra Archer and Mark Wood. In both instances, Yadav was beaten by pace.
During India’s tour of South Africa last year, Yadav managed just 26 runs in three matches. As captain, he has scored 256 runs in 12 T20I matches at an average of 21.33, with two half-centuries. His last half-century came against Bangladesh in October last year.
“There’s one issue I’m noticing, and that’s Suryakumar Yadav. He’s an exceptional player, and I admire him a lot, but his form has been off lately,” he said.
“In T20 cricket, it’s understandable that you need to play aggressive shots, but he hasn’t been consistent with the bat recently. He really needs to deliver. He’s one player who has the ability to turn the game around,” he added.
“Suryakumar Yadav hasn’t been scoring enough runs in recent series. It could be the pressure of captaincy, but regardless, I expect him to step up and play match-winning knocks to inspire the team.”
