T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav has revealed that he always wanted to play for India when former India captain MS Dhoni was leading the team, adding that one thing that he always learnt from the latter was how
to stay relaxed in all pressure situations and how he analyses a match.
By the time Suryakumar made his debut for the national side, Dhoni had already retired from international cricket.
The only instance Suryakumar and Dhoni were part of the same setup was during the 2021 T20 World Cup, where the latter served as India’s mentor and the former was a team member.
“Firstly, I always wanted to get an opportunity when he was the captain of India. But I never got it. I saw him behind the stumps whenever I played against him. He has been very cool,” Suryakumar said while speaking at the JITO Connect 2025.
“One thing that I have learned from him when I played against him is to stay relaxed in all pressure situations. He looks around the game, sees what is happening and then takes a call,” Suryakumar added.
The T20I captain also spoke about Rohit Sharma, whose international leadership career came to a close.
“Then Rohit bhai, under whom I played a lot of cricket for the IPL franchise and India. He is someone who gets everyone comfortable around them, an inspiration to all youngsters,” Suryakumar said.
“His (Rohit’s) door was open 24/7 for everyone. That is a different quality which I learnt from him and also from the other captains,” Suryakumar added.
Recently, the T20I captain has been in focus, with the India-Pakistan rivalry going beyond the field.
Suryakumar reacted to India not receiving the Asia Cup trophy, saying that it is the winning team that is remembered, not the trophy, after they refused to accept it from Asian Cricket Council chief and Pakistan Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi.
