If you are a batter, what would you take — being out of form, or being out of runs? How do you make that distinction? What is it that defines form other than runs? Can one be independent of the other?
Suryakumar Yadav stoked a gentle debate last year when he insisted more than once that he was not out of form, just out of runs. In an oblique, roundabout sort of way, what he was trying to convey made sense. He was hitting the ball when in the nets, he was moving nicely, he was mentally in a good headspace, but when it came to a match situation, the runs would simply not come. The first mistake invariably ended up being his last.
To say that 2025 was Suryakumar’s annus horribilis will be an understatement. The No. 1 batter in the world in the format not long before that, he managed a meagre 218 runs in 19 visits to the crease. A highest of 47 not out was one of only innings of more than 25; his average was an unflattering 13.62, the strike-rate 123.16. For someone accustomed to having the bowling at his mercy, it must have been a particularly bitter pill to swallow, especially in his capacity as the captain because like his T20I predecessor Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar prides himself on setting the example for the rest to follow.
That India were still amassing an impressive win percentage number would have been bittersweet; sweet because of the outcomes, bitter because his contribution in his primary vocation was minimal to nothing.
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Clearly, Suryakumar was hurt at letting himself and his mates down. He needed time to clear his head, so he put the bat away for a little while in December at the conclusion of the South Africa series, took cricket away from his thoughts and recharged himself. The break has evidently helped him; since the beginning of 2026 and the New Zealand series, Suryakumar has been a force of nature, the strutting behemoth that had given way briefly to a stuttering impostor.
The 35-year-old began the new year with an ominous 32 off 22 deliveries in Nagpur. He has subsequently reeled off 82 not out, 57 not out, 8, 63, 84 not out and 12; his highest in this period came from 77 for six against United States in India’s World Cup opener last week which marked Suryakumar’s debut at a World Cup as his country’s captain.
The return to form, runs, whatever you want to call it, couldn’t have been timelier. The Player of the Series Award was the perfect lead-up to the World Cup, where Suryakumar has been presented with the opportunity of becoming the first captain to lead his team to the Promised Land on home patch and the first skipper to successfully defend the crown.
March 8 and a shot at the trophy are a lifetime away. For now, Suryakumar and India’s immediate goal is Sunday’s Group A showdown against Pakistan, at Colombo’s Premadasa Stadium. As captain, Suryakumar is tasked with extending India’s record against their arch-rivals to 8-1 in T20I World Cups but it is as a batter that he faces a greater challenge.
Redemption beckons as Suryakumar Yadav confronts his Pakistan paradox
Unlike several of his predecessors who have punished Pakistan in World Cups of both ilk, Suryakumar has a woeful individual record against the cross-border neighbours in 20-over internationals. In eight innings spread between October 2021 and September 2025, he has managed a modest 112 runs with a highest of 47 not out in the first of three successive Sunday encounters between the sides at the Asia Cup in Dubai last September. As captain, he has only 48 runs from 45 deliveries. Overall, against Pakistan, he averages a miserable 16 and strikes at 113.13. If ever there was a time for course correction, it is now.
Nobody has led India in more World Cup clashes, 50 and 20 overs, against Pakistan than Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who boasts a perfect 7-0 record. Without producing anything gigantic, largely because of how low down the order he batted, Dhoni weighed in with significant contributions with the bat, was electric behind the stumps and exceptional strategically, always a half-step ahead of the opposition. Mohammad Azharuddin led India to three wins in ODI World Cups, capping off the hat-trick with a crucial 59 in Manchester in 1999 to go with 32 and 27 in Sydney and Bengaluru respectively in the two preceding editions. Sourav Ganguly was dismissed first ball by Waqar Younis in Centurion in 2003 though it made no difference to the outcome, while Rohit Sharma produced a blistering 86 off 63 deliveries at the 50-over 2023 World Cup game in Ahmedabad, which was sandwiched by T20I victories masterminded at the 2022 and 2024 World Cups.
The only Indian captain to lose a World Cup game to Pakistan remains Virat Kohli, whose laboured 57 (49b) was to no avail in Dubai in October 2021. Kohli had smashed a brilliant 77 in Manchester at the 2019 50-over ODI event; he remains the only Indian captain to make two half-centuries in World Cups against Pakistan.
Despite his awareness of the sport’s history, it’s unlikely that Suryakumar will fuss over these finer details. All he will be focussed on is continuing to score the runs that are now cascading off his bat, setting the batting record straight against Pakistan and hauling his side to another victory, one that would guarantee their place in the Super Eights. How’s that for the perfect trifecta, the perfect storm?
