India men's cricket team's assistant coach Ryan ten Doeschate has responded to backlash amid the horrendous run on UK tour after the high of T20 World Cup 2026 triumph. Ten Doeschate revealed that the tough call to sack Suryakumar Yadav as captain and drop him from the side as well was taken keeping in mind that the next T20 World Cup is in Australia. The former Netherlands all-rounder admits that it isn't a good look for the new T20I captain to lose five out of six games but urges fans to evaluate the series of events realistically.
"When you are in this position of managing or coaching a team like India, you have to foreplan as well. Surya was a fantastic leader, but if you are looking at two years down the line to Australia, you have to make some really tough calls and there's going to be a million opinions about it and the immediate backlash of transitioning to a new captain, then losing two games to Ireland and being three nil down in England, the optics of it aren't very good, I get that, but it's also important to look at things realistically. We've made a few changes to the squad," the Dutch said in the post-match press conference.
Ten Doeschate has urged the fans to give Iyer some time to grow into the role. He backs Iyer to come good after a streak of defeats.
Suryakumar’s impressive T20I captaincy record
Suryakumar's T20I captaincy record is unmatched in the history of India's T20I cricket. From 52 T20Is as captain, Surya-led side has a win percentage of 82, the highest among India T20I captains who have led in five or more games.
SKY’s batting slump leads to axe
After a poor run in T20Is played in 2025, Suryakumar made a comeback. He wasn’t at his best but there was improvement. But, low scores in India’s must-win T20 World Cup games including the semifinal and final, followed by a lacklustre run in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 for Mumbai Indians (MI) led to his ouster from the T20I side.
Suryakumar's record in England and Australia
The last time India toured England in 2022 for a T20I series, Suryakumar scored 171 runs from three innings, including an 117-run knock.
In Australia, Suryakumar has scored 323 runs at an average of 46.14 and strike rate of 184.57. He has three fifties on Australian soil.