Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra praised Suryakumar Yadav for his brilliant knock against the USA in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday. SKY scored a match-winning knock of 84 runs off just 49 balls with the help of 10 fours and four sixes.
India was under all kinds of pressure at 77-6 after they were put into bat by the USA captain and SKY was able to steady the ship. Yadav played with a sedate approach in the first half as India were losing wickets at the other end however he changed his gears at the fag end.
Chopra predicted that Suryakumar Yadav might not captain India in T20Is after the completion of ongoing T20I showpiece.
“No matter how much you praise Suryakumar Yadav, it’s less, and I will tell you plenty of reasons why. This was his 25th T20I half-century. He has played two matches against USA and has scored half-centuries in both,” Chopra said said on his YouTube Channel.
“He played the last World Cup and took that (David Miller’s) catch. However, this World Cup could be his first and last chance because he might not be there as a captain after this World Cup. He took the Indian team to a total where you could have won despite Jasprit Bumrah’s absence,” he added.
Chopra highlighted that India were in trouble in their batting innings as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.
“The thing that is so endearing is that India were stuck at one stage. It seemed like we won’t be able to play 20 overs. It seemed like it would be great if we scored even 125-130 because wickets were falling one after the other,” he observed.
Meanwhile, SKY had a rough patch in 2025 as he managed only 218 runs in the previous year and Chopra noted there were questions on Yadav’s place in the team.
“He was playing slowly at the start and absorbing the pressure, that he had to remind everyone once again who Suryakumar Yadav is because he hadn’t scored runs for the last one year. He was criticized a lot, and questions were asked repeatedly whether he would have been in the team had he not been the captain, whether what happened with Shubman Gill should have happened with him as well,” he said.
Chopra praised SKY for pacing his innings with guile after India was under the pump.
“However, as it’s said, form is temporary, class is permanent. The clouds can hide Surya for some time, but no one can stop Surya from shining. Its brightness illuminates the entire world. He batted like that. He took his time, took the innings deep, and then he flourished. 21 runs came from his bat in the 20th over. He was outstanding. He managed the first innings beautifully with his bat,” Chopra elaborated.
India will next take on Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on February 12.
