T20 WC: Dissecting Suryakumar Yadav's dismal T20I record vs Pakistan
What's the story
India and Pakistan will renew their historic rivalry in the ICC T20 World Cup at R Premadasa Stadium, Colombo, on February 15. As per ESPNcricinfo, India have seven wins and just a solitary defeat against the Men in Green at the T20 World Cup level. Hence, the two-time T20 WC champions should take the field with their heads high. However, their skipper Suryakumar Yadav has not really enjoyed operating against Pakistan. Let's decode his T20I stats against Pakistan.
Performance analysis
An average of 16 vs Pakistan
Suryakumar has played eight T20I matches against Pakistan, scoring just 112 runs at a paltry average of 16 (SR: 113.13). He is yet to score a half-century, with his highest being an unbeaten 47 in a 2025 Asia Cup match. SKY has not touched the 20-run mark in any of his other outings against Pakistan. The tally includes a duck as well. His returns against them in T20 World Cups read: 11, 15, and 7.
Match recap
Suryakumar's form heading into Pakistan clash
In India's T20 World Cup opener against the United States, Suryakumar Yadav played a captain's knock of 84 runs off just 49 balls. His innings powered India to a 29-run victory. However, he couldn't carry that momentum into the next match against Namibia and was dismissed cheaply for just 12 runs. Now, ahead of the crucial clash with Pakistan, Suryakumar will be keen to make his mark.
T20Is
Here are his T20I numbers
Having played 106 T20Is, Suryakumar has raced to 3,126 runs from 100 innings at 37.66. The one against USA was his 25th half-century in T20Is (100s: 4). The batter owns 174 T20I sixes - the joint-third-most for any batter - as his strike rate is a stunning 165.13. 576 of his runs have come in 20 T20 WC matches at 44.30 (SR: 158.24, 50s: 6). Notably, SKY has the most POTM awards by an Indian in T20Is (17).