Former Indian T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav finally broke his silence on being axed from the Indian team right after leading the side to the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 title victory, defeating New Zealand in the final.
Speaking in an interview with former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra on YouTube, Surya revealed that it took him more than two months to come to terms with the decision made by the selection committee.
Furthermore, Suryakumar Yadav also disclosed that his wife, Devisha Shetty, motivated him during this tough phase, which propelled him to return to training after being at home for 40 to 45 days.
“I sat at home for 40-50 days. I was doing nothing, and I was completely shocked. I was thinking, what should I do now? Do I want to play or not? A lot was going on in my mind. One day, suddenly my wife said, ‘Just think about why you started playing this game 20 years ago? Because you were mad for this game. Then bring that passion back again.'”
“Aise hi smile kiya tha maine jabhi mera naam nahi tha (I smiled like this when my name was not there). Whatever cricket I played throughout the two years, whenever I was in situations where there was pressure and things were not going my way, I have always smiled,” he added.
Later, Surya also added that he never expected that he would be dropped from the team, stating that he has already started planning for the next T20 World Cup campaign and the forthcoming Olympics.
“I also didn’t think this would happen. I was preparing to take this team forward for another two years; then the Olympics will come, then there will be another T20 World Cup, another challenge going forward. But at the same time, what you think and what others are thinking are two different things. If they thought that this is a better call going forward, they took that call. But I didn’t react,” he concluded.
