India Test legend Ajinkya Rahane opened up on Suryakumar Yadav's lean patch in T20Is ahead of the five-match T20I series against New Zealand, which is scheduled to start from January 21. Notably, India's number one T20I batter Suryakumar Yadav has been going through a lean patch of his career since 2024 after he was appointed as Rohit Sharma's sucessor to lead India in the shortest format of the game.
Rahane's advice to Suryakumar Yadav
Rahane, who captained India during their famous Border-Gavaskar Trophy win in Australia, believes that Suryakumar has been trying to “do too many things” off late and should just keep things simple in order to rediscover his destructive form in the upcoming T20Is against New Zealand.
“He has been out of form recently but I am really looking forward to seeing Surya coming back to form just before the World Cup,” said Rahane on Cricbuzz.
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Suryakumar Yadav's form in 2025
After a rough patch toward the end of 2024, Suryakumar Yadav bounced back in style during the 2025 IPL and looked close to his best again. However, that form didn’t carry over to international cricket. In the T20I series he played after the IPL, his struggles continued. In 2025, Suryakumar managed only 218 runs in 19 T20I innings, averaging just 13.62 and scoring at a strike rate of 123.16. It was the first time in his career that his strike rate dipped below 150 across an entire calendar year.
“For (someone of) Surya’s ability, those numbers are pretty low,” said Rahane.
“I feel he is putting too much pressure on himself as a batter, trying to do too many things. If he can just keep it simple and just try and back his game. Preparation wise, he has been fantastic. His attitude and intensity on the field as been fantastic. I just want him to keep things simple as a batter. If he bats for long period of time, if Surya does well, India will do well.”
The upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand will be India's last assignment before the T20 World Cup 2026, which is scheduled to start from February 7. Defending champions India will start their campaign against the United States.