Ajinkya Rahane recently commented on Suryakumar Yadav's current form just before the 2025 Asia Cup, acknowledging that the Indian captain had a poor series
against England earlier this year.
Rahane pointed out that despite India winning the series 4-1, Suryakumar only managed to score 28 runs across five innings at a strike rate of 116.66.
However, Rahane emphasized Suryakumar's impressive comeback during the 2025 IPL, where he scored 717 runs in 16 innings, the highest-ever by a non-opener in a single IPL season, maintaining a strike rate of 167.91 with consistent scores above 25 and five half-centuries. Rahane also mentioned that Suryakumar is entering the Asia Cup after recovering from a sports hernia surgery.
On his YouTube channel, Rahane said, "Didn't have a good series against England, but came back to form in IPL with five fifties and finished as the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament with a healthy strike rate. We all know Surya is a dangerous batter. In this format, he has done really well. But it will be interesting to see how he goes about his batting, especially after the surgery. "
Regarding leadership, Rahane praised Suryakumar's proactive and effective captaincy, highlighting his positive impact in leading the team so far. However, he stressed the importance of Suryakumar's batting in India's success at the Asia Cup, stating, "As a captain, he has been fantastic. He is a proactive captain and led the team really well in the past, but I feel, in this Asia Cup, his batting will be really important. "
Suryakumar Yadav has captained India in 22 T20I matches, winning 17 with a striking win percentage of 77.27 and has not lost any bilateral T20I series as captain. India will start their Asia Cup campaign against the United Arab Emirates on September 10 in Dubai, followed by matches against Pakistan and Oman respectively.
