Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan reckons Suryakumar Yadav’s impressive T20I captaincy record is not appreciated enough by the experts. Since the start of 2025, India has suffered only four losses in T20Is and have registered series wins against England, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

In 43 matches in-charge, SKY has suffered only seven losses in the shortest format of the game. SKY was also able to lead from the front in the T20I series against New Zealand, scoring 242 runs in five matches to return to form and was awarded Player of the Series.

“When you play at home, there is a lot of outside noise, that pressure to perform comes with it. Surya’s demeanor is quite relaxed, and the way he manages the side and talks to his players, it is clear that he is a good captain. We don’t appreciate his record enough as a captain. If your win percentage is 80-85 percent, no one else has it, and if you win the World Cup on top of that, then everyone has to talk about him as a captain,” Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube channel.

Pathan said he wants to see how SKY would react if a gun fast bowler like Jasprit Bumrah has an off day in the T20I showpiece.

“Suppose if Bumrah has a bad day, concedes over 50 runs in an important match in the World Cup, how Suryakumar Yadav pulls things back from there, I want to see that. Also, if the other bowlers struggle, what Plan B will Suryakumar Yadav bring on the field, I want to see that as well,” he added.

Meanwhile, SKY could only manage 218 runs in 21 innings in 2025 but bounced back to form against the Kiwis.

“Now you have all these ultra-aggressive players, but before that, it was Surya who was the No.1 ranked batter. He used to play at a strike rate of 160 with a brilliant average. He disappeared in 2025, but now he is back,” Irfan Pathan said.

India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against the USA on February 7.