"Surya is also in this category" - Mohammad Kaif's massive take on Indian captain's woeful form ahead of 2026 T20 World Cup

Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif made a massive take on Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav's woeful form ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup. Suryakumar is set to lead the Men in Blue at the marquee event beginning February 2026.

While Suryakumar has done well as India's captain, his form with the bat has been poor. Notably, Shubman Gill's form was also poor in the format, and he was dropped from the 2026 T20 World Cup squad. With questions on Suryakumar's form, Mohammad Kaif reckoned that Gill and Suryakumar could not be compared in T20Is.

He highlighted that Suryakumar had already proven himself while Gill had not established himself in the format for India yet.

"There is a difference in the cases of Gill and Surya. Surya has been a proven match-winner in T20s. He has been on top of the ICC rankings and won games as well. We can't compare the two here. Gill had to prove himself in this format in the Indian team," he said on his YouTube channel.

Mohammad Kaif recalled how Virat Kohli was backed despite his lean patch due to his reputation and match-winning performances over the years. He felt that India must back Suryakumar Yadav similarly and could not be compared to Gill.

"Take Kohli for example, he did not score for those two years during COVID but because he had a great record and a match-winner for 10 years or so, you backed him on his reputation and he got out of that phase and started scoring again. Surya is also in this category. Gill is nowhere close to Surya in this format. Saying you should remove both if they are not in form is not right here. Surya has earned this," he added.

However, Mohammad Kaif did not discount the fact that Suryakumar's form is a concern heading into the 2026 T20 World Cup. He reckoned it was important for the captain to score runs and find his rhythm for India to win the title. He pointed out that the batter would have to focus on where he was going wrong and whether the pressure of captaincy had been affecting his batting.

"He cannot be dropped. In Surya's case, he has to be backed. You need to focus on where he is making mistakes and why he is not able to score. Is it because of the captaincy? Is that pressure getting to him? That is the question. He is a solid player in this format. The question is how he can get out of this phase. He needs to assess whether he is putting his energy elsewhere and whether his technique is exposed. He has to find these answers," Mohammad Kaif reflected.

In 2025, Suryakumar scored just 218 runs from 19 T20I innings at an average of 13.62 and a strike rate of 123.16 without a single half-century.

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Mohammad Kaif suggests Suryakumar Yadav to be braver

Talking further about Suryakumar Yadav, Mohammad Kaif reckoned that the T20I skipper has to be braver. Suryakumar has been batting at number four and sending Tilak Varma ahead of him. Kaif suggested that he would have to come further up the order and take the initiative.

"Surya has to be brave here. He will have to fight it on the pitch. You cannot hide in the dugout. I feel he has missed chances to come in early and score. Why would Tilak come in? The best T20 player should come in, right? It is understandable if wickets fall early and you send Tilak. But otherwise, you should sed your best player. If you are out of form, you need to take that initiative," he said.

India are the defending champions, having won the 2024 T20 World Cup. For them to defend the title, their skipper will have to regain his touch.

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Edited by Rishab Vm