India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav recently opened up about the biggest regret of his cricketing career - never having had the opportunity to play under the legendary captaincy of MS Dhoni.
Speaking at JITO Connect 2025, Suryakumar expressed his disappointment while sharing valuable lessons he learned by observing Dhoni play, even as an opponent in the Indian Premier League.
Suryakumar revealed, "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. 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 around what is happening and then takes
a call. " These words reflect how Dhoni's calm and composed demeanor made a profound impact on Suryakumar, inspiring him to remain steady during critical moments on the field.
The journey to international cricket wasn't easy or fast for Suryakumar. He began his domestic career with Mumbai in 2010 but had to wait more than a decade to debut internationally. His first game came in 2021 against England under Virat Kohli's captaincy, although he did not get to bat in that match. Reflecting on Kohli's captaincy style,
Suryakumar noted, "I think Virat Bhai is a very hard task master. He pushes your limits, and he wants the best. I mean, all the captains want the best from all the players, but he was full of energy on the field and off the field as well. He was a bit different. "
Suryakumar also praised Rohit Sharma's leadership, under whom he has played both in international cricket and for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
"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. His door was open 24/7 for everyone. That's a different quality which I learnt from him and also from the other captains," Suryakumar said.
He notably made a match-winning catch under Rohit's captaincy in the 2024 T20 World Cup final against South Africa. Suryakumar also took over the T20I captaincy reins from Rohit and led India to their Asia Cup victory this year.
