Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has showered praise on Suryakumar Yadav after India registered a 29-run win against the USA in their opening clash of the T20 World Cup 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai on Saturday.

Surprisingly, India kept losing wickets at regular intervals and were left reeling at 77-6 after 12.4 overs. However, Suryakumar Yadav was able to steady the ship as he scored an outstanding knock of 84 runs off just 49 balls with the help of 10 fours and four sixes. Thus, he played an instrumental role in helping India post 161 runs on the board.

SKY played sensibly when India lost wickets in a cluster and then catapulted his attack in the death overs.

“Suryakumar Yadav was flexible. You would have heard him say in press conferences that we will play only in one way. But the fact that he was prepared to be flexible. Once he understood the conditions, where the pitch wasn’t the easiest, he made the adjustments. He needed to. At 77/6, if he had played in the same manner as the others and India got to 120, the USA might have well fancied their chances,” Shastri said after the game. (via ICC)

The former Indian all-rounder praised the Indian skipper for his impressive shot selection. Shastri said other Indian batters must take their lessons and learn from SKY.

“I thought his shot selection towards the backend was fantastic. Some of the shots he played, where he used the pace, was a lesson to be learned for the other Indian batters, because he realised hitting in front of the wicket was not easy. For me, that’s the biggest plus from his point of view. Ability to adapt in a tight corner. It was against Surya’s nature to adapt and change on hand, with his side in trouble, the fact that he is captain, made him realise that he had no choice, so full marks to him,” he added.

India will next take on Namibia at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on February 12.