Suryakumar Yadav’s slump face stark truths after India’s crushing defeat vs SA: ‘Will start to taint his confidence’

Suryakumar Yadav’s dip in form has become a significant concern for India as the T20 World Cup draws nearer. The explosive batter—renowned for his unorthodox, all-around shot-making—has struggled to find rhythm for over a year now, a phase that has overlapped with his tenure as captain. His continued inconsistency has weakened India’s middle-order impact and sparked discussions about whether the added responsibility is weighing on his natural, attacking instincts.

Since India’s T20 World Cup win last year, Suryakumar has managed only 431 runs in 29 innings, averaging 18.73 with just two fifties to his name. While the team has enjoyed a fair amount of success under his leadership, his prolonged slump with the bat has now emerged as one of India’s biggest worries.

Former India cricketer Robin Uthappa weighed in on Suryakumar’s prolonged lean patch, warning that the dip in batting form could soon spill over into his captaincy. He suggested that while Surya has so far managed to keep his struggles from affecting his leadership, repeated failures could begin to take a visible toll.

“In the last game, right, in the post-match, I said, as long as he’s winning, it’s not going to show up. But if this happens, like, what happened today? It happens not three or four times, it’s gonna impact even how he leads on inside the field,” Uthappa said in the post-match show on JioHotstar.

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“If a couple more losses like this happen…”

After a flop show with the bat in Cuttak, Surya faltered again on Thursday night and was dismissed for just five by Marco Jansen.

Uthappa doubled down on his concerns, warning that Suryakumar’s struggles could slowly seep into his captaincy. He stressed that while winning helps mask individual issues, repeated setbacks might erode the composure and clarity needed to make strong on-field decisions.

“His confidence is going to be dainty. Right now, he’s able to separate the two because the team is winning, and he’s pulling off some great moments on the field. But if a couple more losses like this happen, it will start to taint his confidence in making the right kind of decisions on the field as well. And you don’t want that to happen,” he concluded.