Suryakumar Yadav Opens Up About Fear of Losing T20I Captaincy to Shubman Gill

India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has said he felt a bit scared about losing his captaincy after Shubman Gill was made India’s white-ball vice-captain. That move showed the BCCI saw Gill as the next leader after Rohit Sharma. Suryakumar started to feel his time as T20I captain might not last long, especially when Gill later became the Test captain and was recently named the new ODI captain, replacing Rohit.

Suryakumar said that for a moment, he was scared he might lose his T20I captaincy before the 2026 T20 World Cup. But instead of letting that worry affect him, he decided to take it as motivation to play even better. He also said that his strong friendship with Shubman Gill, both on and off the field helps him handle the situation calmly.

“I won’t lie; everyone feels that fear. But it is the kind of fear that makes you feel motivated. The camaraderie between him (Shubman Gill) and me is amazing off the field and on it. I know what kind of player and human he is. So, it motivates me to do well. But I am very happy for him that he has become captain in two formats. He has done really well,” Suryakumar said on Express Adda.

Surya made his international debut after turning 30 and hit his very first ball for a six against Jofra Archer. He didn’t give in to pressure or fear back then, and he’s not going to do it now either.

“If I were so scared, then I wouldn’t have played my first ball in international cricket the way I did. So, I left that fear behind a long time back. I believe if I am working hard on myself, being honest with myself. Then the rest of everything will be taken care of,” SKY added.