Dubai: India captain Suryakumar Yadav has emerged as a formidable player in T20 cricket. Although he made his international debut later in his career, the 35-year-old has demonstrated consistent performance, which led to his appointment as captain following Rohit Sharma’s retirement from T20I cricket.
Over his 85 matches, Suryakumar has accumulated 2,652 runs at an impressive strike rate of 166.37. He currently ranks fifth on the all-time list for most runs scored by a non-opener in T20I history. While he has opened in four matches, he has predominantly batted at number three (25 innings), number four (46 innings), and number five (six innings). As a non-opener, he has scored 2,517 runs, placing him second among Indian players, only behind Virat Kohli.
Kohli holds the record with 3,637 runs in the same category. David Miller, Shakib Al Hasan, and Glenn Maxwell occupy the second, third, and fourth spots, respectively. Notably, Miller is only 50 runs ahead of Suryakumar, presenting the latter an opportunity to surpass that total in the ongoing Asia Cup.
Most Runs as Non-Opener in T20Is: | Player | Runs | |——————-|——-| | Virat Kohli | 3,637 | | David Miller | 2,567 | | Shakib Al Hasan | 2,542 | | Glenn Maxwell | 2,535 | | Suryakumar Yadav | 2,517 |
In his inaugural major tournament as captain, Suryakumar successfully led India to the Super Fours of the current Asia Cup. India achieved comfortable victories against the UAE by nine wickets and Pakistan by seven wickets. The team is set to compete against Hong Kong at Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on September 19.
Recently, India made headlines not only for their significant win over Pakistan but also for declining to shake hands with the Pakistani team, led by Salman Agha, after the match. This action prompted Pakistan to forgo participation in the post-match presentation, sparking controversy. Following this incident, Pakistan threatened to withdraw from the tournament if the ICC did not take action against match referee Andy Pycroft.
