India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav needs a cameo to surpass Virat Kohli on the list of leading run-scorers against South Africa. Suryakumar needs 23 more runs to become India's second-highest run-scorer in T20Is against South Africa.
Former captain Kohli has 394 runs from 13 innings at an average of 39.40, including three fifties against South Africa. Suryakumar is just below with 372 runs from 10 innings at an average of 41.33, including a century and four fifties.
For India, former captain Rohit Sharma holds the record for most T20I runs. The opener has 429 runs from 17 innings at an average of 26.81, including a century and two fifties. In India-South Africa T20I clashes, discarded Proteas batter David Miller has 524 runs from 22 innings at an average of 34.93, including a century and two fifties.
If Suryakumar scores 28 runs in the series opener at Cuttack's Barabati Stadium, he will become the 10th batter to score 400 or more T20I runs against South Africa. The top spot belongs to England's Jos Buttler with 606 runs from 21 innings, including four fifties.
Suryakumar's lean patch in 2025
Suryakumar has not been at his best this year. From 15 innings in 2025, he has managed to score 184 runs at an average of 15.33 and strike rate of 127.77. He is yet to score a T20I century this year. His highest T20I score in 2025 is 47 not out.
Suryakumar on team combination
Despite his lack of runs in 2025, Suryakumar focused on the team. He feels that the current squad is the same that will feature in the T20 World Cup 2026.
"I feel in the last 5-6 series which we have played, we have tried and played with a similar combination. We have not changed too much... Everything is going well. We wanted to continue the same way," he said.
After the five-T20I series against South Africa, India’s last preparatory series before the T20 World Cup 2026 will be against New Zealand next year.