India captain Suryakumar Yadav has been a force to reckon with in the shortest format of the game. Suryakumar Yadav announced himself late in the international circuit, but ever since his debut, the 35-year-old has been extremely consistent, and courtesy of the same, he was announced the skipper after Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from T20I cricket.
In 85 matches Suryakumar Yadav played, the Mumbai-born made 2652 runs at a strike rate of 166.37. Meanwhile, he currently stands fifth on the list of most runs scored by a non-opener in T20I cricket history. Apart from four matches where Suryakumar Yadav opened, he featured at number three 25 times, at four in 46 innings and six times at five. Suryakumar Yadav has made 2517 runs as a non-opener, which is only behind Virat Kohli among Indians.
The former India captain, Kohli, has 3637 runs as a non-opener in T20Is. David Miller, Shakib Al Hasan and Glenn Maxwell are second, third and fourth, respectively. Meanwhile, Miller, who is currently at number two, is only 50 runs ahead, and hence, Suryakumar Yadav can break that record in the ongoing Asia Cup itself.
Most runs as non-opener in T20Is
| Player | Runs |
| Virat Kohli | 3637 |
| David Miller | 2567 |
| Shakib Al Hasan | 2542 |
| Glenn Maxwell | 2535 |
| Suryakumar Yadav | 2517 |
Former India Cricketer Mohammad Kaif praised India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav for not losing focus despite noise on social media after the team’s winning run at the ongoing Asia Cup 2025.
Mohammad Kaif is in all praise of Suryakumar Yadav for staying focussed amidst contorversies in the Asia Cup 2025
Suryakumar Yadav is leading India at the Asia Cup this year, and the team remains unbeaten in the tournament. Under his leadership, India secured a nine-wicket victory against the UAE in their campaign opener, followed by a resounding seven-wicket win against arch-rivals Pakistan.
Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif lavished praise on India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav for his captaincy during the Asia Cup 2025 clash against Pakistan. Surya, who was leading India for the first time in a multiteam tournament, scored winning runs during India’s second Group Stage clash against Pakistan and finished off the proceedings with a six to guide his team to a seven-wicket win against Pakistan.
Mohammad Kaif, who also featured for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in his playing days, praised Suryakumar Yadav for not losing focus during the clash against Pakistan despite a massive social media noise.
Praising Suryakumar Yadav’s leadership skills, Kaif wrote on X,
“Suryakumar Yadav emerges as a true leader in this Asia Cup. Scoring winning runs in a high-pressure game, marshalling the bowlers intelligently, and not losing focus despite social media noise. SKY is a complete captain.”
Suryakumar Yadav was named India’s full-time T20I captain after Rohit Sharma’s exit from the format. The Nagpur-born opening batter announced his T20I retirement after leading India to the T20 World Cup victory in June 2024. Suryakumar Yadav played a fine knock against Pakistan on Sunday, scoring an unbeaten 47 off 37 deliveries. He scored the winning runs and finished off the 128-run chase with a six off the penultimate delivery of the 16th over.
Bowling first, the Indian bowlers put on a show, allowing their opponents to score a paltry 127/9 in their 20-over quota. Kuldeep Yadav was the pick of the bowlers as he registered figures of 3/18 in his four-over spell. Indian openers Shubman Gill and Abhishek Sharma started off on a high before the Indian skipper took charge. Suryakumar Yadav played a composed knock as India crossed the finish line with ease.
With two wins from two games, India now leads the Group A points table and have advanced to the Super Four stage. The top two teams from Group A and Group B will compete in the Super Four round, aiming for a spot in the final. India will face Oman in their last group stage match on Friday, September 19, at the Sheikh Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi.
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