Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has heaped praise on Suryakumar Yadav following India’s 29-run win against the USA in the T20 World Cup 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday. India was in deep trouble at 77-6 after they were put into bat by the USA captain Monank Patel however, SKY played a captain’s knock as he scored 84 runs off just 49 balls.
The veteran batter scored 10 fours and four sixes in his blistering knock as other Indian batters failed to get going. SKY adopted a calm approach in the first half of the innings and then changed gears during the death overs.
Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube Channel, “We need to talk about Suryakumar Yadav’s batting. Look, India was in a very difficult situation when Suryakumar Yadav came to bat. This innings, his half-century, deserves special mention. I would make one request to all fans. People often say he scored runs against a weaker team, don’t overrate it. But please, when this innings is discussed, it must be highlighted because if this innings hadn’t happened, the Indian team could have lost the match against the USA. India wouldn’t have even reached 150 runs.”
Pathan highlighted that India was able to post 161 runs on the board only because of SKY’s knock and this innings needs to talked about with respect.
“Because of the way he handled the innings, India managed a target of 162, which was much higher than it would have been otherwise. That’s why this innings is extremely important. So whenever this innings is mentioned, even if it’s a half-century against the USA, please speak about it with a lot of respect. India was under enormous pressure. Four wickets had fallen in the powerplay. After losing those four wickets, the way he steadied the innings showed great responsibility.”
“Even in the post-match discussion, he said that the team could have batted a bit more sensibly, but he himself batted sensibly. There’s no doubt about that. In his first 13 balls, Suryakumar Yadav didn’t hit a single boundary. In the first 12 balls, he scored only six runs. He could have played big shots from the very first ball, but he knew that if he got out trying, there was no one else to take responsibility,” he added.
India will next take on Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on February 12.
