Suryakumar Yadav, the Indian skipper for the ICC T20 World Cup, has opined that the left-hand-right-hand combination is highly overrated, and what teams need is an explosive batting pair to make it count within the powerplay. This seemed to be an indication towards Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma being cited as the World Cup openers by India.
India have made many changes to the opening pair several times in the shortest format of the game. Back in the 2024 T20 World Cup, India had opened with their two veterans, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who were both right-handers. Many such instances have been seen formerly as well.
India have only three players who could likely take up the opening role in this edition of the World Cup. They have Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma in the squad. Considering Abhishek’s no. 1 ICC T20I ranking, he is likely to keep his position throughout the competition.
Suryakumar Yadav trashes Gautam Gambhir’s T20 strategy
Suryakumar Yadav went on to claim that the right-hand-left-hand combination has no use in the T20 playing XI.
Gautam Gambhir has a love for left-handed and right-handed batters opening the innings. He believes that a combination of two different kinds of batters unsettles the bowlers and hence, the batters can make free use of the fielding restrictions within the powerplay.
“It’s a good headache. Left right combination is overrated. You have practiced a lot for all. Your job is to do the best for the team,” said Suryakumar Yadav.
Suryakumar Yadav: It’s a good headache. Left right combination is overrated. You have practiced a lot for all. Your job is to do the best for the team.
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) February 6, 2026
Suryakumar Yadav on ‘keeping the bowlers relaxed’ in a T20 game
Surya has truly been an inspiring captain for Team India. Though Suryakumar Yadav has lost his batting spark, he was an invincible skipper and managed to lead India to multiple wins in the shortest format of the game. Having played in 41 matches, India have lost just 7 games under his captaincy.
He also led them to an undefeated title clinch in the Asia Cup, which included three games where the Indian team crushed archrivals Pakistan. Suryakumar has, hence, projected the important note of his captaincy, where he believes that bowlers are often under immense pressure and they should be backed, so that they can deliver with ease.
Suryakumar believes that he should be backing the players on the ground and often tries to be comforting to them. “This format is very harsh for the bowlers. You have to make them feel relaxed. Have fun on the ground, and enjoy it,” he added.
Suryakumar is excited about leading India for the home World Cup
The very first thing that Suryakumar Yadav answered after attending the ICC T20 World Cup press conference was how excited he is to lead the national team in a home World Cup.
The Indian star revealed that it is always good to play under those conditions at home. The buzz the Indian team gets at the airports is just lovely, while the privilege is to lead India with their campaign starting at the Wankhede Stadium.
“Playing on home soil is exciting. Crowd comes in numbers. At airports, there’s buzz. It’s a privilege to lead India at home, starting at Wankhede. Lots of excitement,” he suggested
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