The first T20I of the ongoing five-match series between India and New Zealand in Nagpur on Wednesday (January 21) is a special one for India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav, as this match is his 100th
T20I for the Men in Blue. Since making his T20I debut for the two-time T20 World Cup winners in March 2021 against England at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, Surya has played 99 T20Is so far and is playing his 100th match today at Vidarbha Cricket Association (VCA) Stadium.
Surya is the fourth cricketer after Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya to play 100 T20Is for India.
Rohit and Kohli played a total of 159 and 125 T20Is for India, respectively, whereas the ongoing match in Nagpur is Hardik’s 125th T20I. In the list of players with the most T20I appearances for India, Hardik has equalled Kohli’s tally.
Most T20Is for India
| PLAYER | MATCHES | RUNS | WICKETS |
| Rohit Sharma | 159 | 4231 | 1 |
| Virat Kohli | 125 | 4188 | 4 |
| Hardik Pandya | 125* | 2002* | 101* |
| Suryakumar Yadav | 100* | 2788* | 2* |
| MS Dhoni | 98 | 1617 | – |
| Bhuvneshwar Kumar | 87 | 67 | 90 |
| Axar Patel | 86* | 681* | 82* |
| Jasprit Bumrah | 84* | 8* | 103* |
| Yuzevndra Chahal | 80 | 6 | 96 |
| Suresh Raina | 78 | 1605 | 13 |
The world record for playing the most T20Is is in the name of Rohit. Rohit played 159 T20Is for India from September 19, 2007, to June 29, 2024. He featured in all nine T20 World Cups played so far, and under his leadership, India also won the 2024 T20 World Cup with a 100% win record.
All eyes on Surya’s performance
Surya played a total of 21 T20Is for India in 2025 but was only able to score 218 runs in 19 innings. He was not able to score even one half-century for the world No. 1 T20I team last year, and for his below-par show with the bat, he faced a lot of criticism.
But despite his flop show with the bat, he helped India win the T20I series against England, Australia and South Africa and also the Asia Cup 2025, that too with a 100% win record.
The Mumbai-based cricketer, who is all set to captain India in the T20 World Cup 2026, which is starting on February 7, would like to come up with performances with the bat in the ongoing series against the Black Caps and silence his critics.
Surya’s T20I record vs New Zealand
Suryakumar has played 8 T20I matches against the Kiwis so far and, with the help of one century and one fifty, has amassed a total of 284 runs. His batting average in the 20-over format of the game against the New Zealand team is 47.33.
