Speaking about India’s T20I preparations ahead of the home series against New Zealand and the T20 World Cup, veteran Indian batter Ajinkya Rahane expressed concern over captain Suryakumar Yadav’s recent batting struggles while also praising Shreyas Iyer’s return to the team.
After a protracted layoff, Iyer was called back into the T20I squad after Tilak Varma was hurt during domestic cricket. After an outstanding ODI World Cup performance, Iyer last appeared in a T20I in December 2023 during the home series against Australia. He participated in the second half of the rubber. Rahane emphasised Iyer’s return along with other important batting positions when he highlighted three things he is especially hoping to see during the New Zealand series.
The three things that catch my attention before this series are Surya’s batting, his lack of form, and my expectation that Suryakumar Yadav would be back to his best right before the World Cup. Then comes Sanju Samson, who I can’t wait to see again. He will begin the batting with Abhishek Sharma. Additionally, Shreyas Iyer is making a comeback; in the past two seasons, he has performed admirably in the IPL, according to Ajinkya Rahane on Cricbuzz.
Even though he helped the Kolkata Knight Riders win the Indian Premier League that year, the right-handed batter was also passed over for the 2024 T20 World Cup. Even after a fantastic IPL 2025 season in which he scored 604 runs at an average of 50.33 and a strike rate of 175.07 for Punjab Kings, his wait persisted.
During the 2025 season of the lucrative competition, Iyer led the Punjab-based team to the grand finale while finishing as the sixth-highest run scorer and hitting the most sixes of any Indian batter. After recovering from a rib ailment he had incurred during the Australia tour, the right-hander resumed playing competitive cricket.
Rahane thinks that SKY is overstressing himself.
Concerns about current T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav’s performance in the game’s shortest format were also addressed by the former India captain. In spite of India’s successful run in the format leading up to the 2026 T20 World Cup, the captain of India had a challenging 2025, scoring only 218 runs at an average of 13.63 and a strike rate of 123.16 in 21 games.
“Those figures are quite low for Surya’s skill level. As a batter, I believe he is trying to accomplish too much and putting too much pressure on himself. He has had an amazing attitude and level of intensity on the pitch. He will perform well if he bats for a long time, and India will do exceptionally well if Surya performs well,” Rahane continued.
In T20Is, Suryakumar Yadav has a solid record versus New Zealand despite his recent difficulties. He has amassed 284 runs at an average of 47.33 in eight games, including a century at Mount Maunganui in 2022. On January 21, India and New Zealand will play each other in Nagpur.
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