Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin didn’t hold back, saying he didn’t understand the rationale behind the potential removal of Suryakumar Yadav from India’s T20I team for the upcoming series against Ireland and England. The All India Senior Men’s Selection Committee will meet on Saturday to finalise India’s T20I team for the upcoming few assignments. Suryakumar, who led India to the third T20 World Cup earlier this year, is set to be removed as skipper, and he is unlikely to be picked for the squad due to his poor form.
The right-handed batter has been going through a blip in form, and his abysmal returns for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2026 season seemed to have pushed the selectors over the edge. He also had a below-par T20 World Cup, with only one notable knock, against the USA at the Wankhede Stadium.
The 35-year-old Surya is all set to be replaced by Shreyas Iyer as the new captain. While Ashwin agreed that one could have looked past the experienced player as skipper, it doesn’t make sense to leave him out of the squad, as he deserves a few more chances.
“It wasn’t easy for Suryakumar Yadav to enter the IPL 2026 season after winning the T20 World Cup. He was also about to become a father. Is there anything bigger than becoming a father? It was expected that his intensity would come down, but one shouldn’t forget that he was the T20 World Cup-winning captain,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel ‘Ash Ki Baat’.
“Where have we lost the human touch? Where has it gone? An Indian captain who won the tournament, you could have had a bit of human touch. I accept that he didn’t perform with the bat, but give him some time. Give him one final chance. Remove him from captaincy, okay,” he added.
It is worth noting that India didn’t lose a single T20I series under Surya’s leadership. However, his returns with the bat were diminishing for quite some time, and last year also saw him not being able to hit a single half-century for the Men in Blue.
‘Not fine’
Ashwin further went on a rant, saying Suryakumar should have been given two to three more series to find his mojo, and if he failed to do that, then the selectors should have moved on from him.
“How is it fine? I understand that he hasn’t been among the runs. But he won the World Cup. You have a way of doing things. If you don’t have the faith that Suryakumar will make your side, then you tell him that he can’t be the captain. But you tell him that time will be given to him,” said Ashwin.
“I was reading somewhere that this is the ruthless mindset India needs to have. Just like Australia. Let me tell you, in Australia, this doesn’t happen. There is solid communication. Suryakumar deserved to be in the team. If he doesn’t perform in the next two or three series, then the selectors can tell him that we are looking past you,” he added.
Suryakumar led India in 52 T20Is, with the Men in Blue registering victories in 40 matches. However, it is his bat that did the bulk of the disappointing. The right-hander has also been out of form in the ongoing Mumbai T20 League as well.
