"Everyone feels that fear" - Suryakumar Yadav's stunning admission on captaincy future ahead of AUS vs IND 2025 series

Team India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav acknowledged his fear of losing captaincy of the shortest format to Shubman Gill in the wake of the latter becoming skipper in Tests and ODIs. Gill was recently appointed India's ODI captain ahead of the upcoming Australian white-ball tour.

He was also appointed Test captain before the England tour after Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the format. Meanwhile, Surya has been brilliant as India's T20I skipper, winning 23 out of 29 games overall.

Talking about potentially losing his T20I captaincy to Gill in the future, Suryakumar Yadav told the Indian Express (via India Today):

"I am very happy for him that he has become captain in two formats. He has done really well. I won't lie, everyone feels that fear. But, it is the kind of fear that keeps you motivated. The camaraderie between me and him (Shubman Gill) is amazing off the field and on it. I know what kind of player and human he is. So it just motivates me to do well, but I am happy for him."

Under Surya, the Men in Blue won the 2025 Asia Cup in the UAE without losing a game last month.

"I wouldn't have played my first ball in international cricket the way I did" - Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav further opened up about not allowing external fears to affect him throughout his career. He pointed to the first-ball six in his maiden T20I innings against England in 2021 as the evidence for the same.

"If I was someone who got affected by things like these and thought so much about it, I wouldn't have played my first ball in international cricket the way I did. So I have left that fear behind a long time back. I believe if I am working hard on myself, following things that have to be followed, working very hard and being honest to myself, the rest will be taken care of," said Suryakumar Yadav (via the aforementioned source).

Surya boasts an excellent T20I record with 2,670 runs at an average of over 37 and a strike rate of 164.20 in 90 outings.