India, Jan. 30 -- Just a month before Suryakumar Yadav turned 34, he was named India's T20I captain. It's the ultimate thing for any cricketer. More so if you had made your international debut barely three years ago, Suryakumar played his first international match in March 2021. in July 2024, he became India's T20I captain. He had, in fact, led India for the last time in November 2023 when regulars Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya were rested. It is rare in Indian cricket for someone to get captaincy duties so early. Then again, Suryakumar Yadav was no ordinary cricketer. In these years, he rose to become one of the best T20I batters in the world.

Despite this, he was behind Hardik Pandya in the pecking order, who had led India between the...