Team India’s T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav recently addressed prospects of captaining the five-time Indian Premier League (IPL) champions, Mumbai Indians (MI) in the 2025 edition. Suryakumar Yadav, who is fondly called as SKY by his fans, broke silence on captaining MI in the next edition ahead of the first T20I against Bangladesh.
It is to be noted that Suryakumar Yadav, pipped the likes of Indian all-rounder, Hardik Pandya and wicketkeeper-batter, KL Rahul to become the T20I skipper after Rohit Sharma retired from the shortest format of the game after India’s win in the T20 World Cup 2024 in June. He then led the Men in Blue to 3-0 series win against Sri Lanka and will hope to maintain a clean sheet as they take on Bangladesh in the three-match T20I series, starting October 6.
Aapne googly daal diya: Suryakumar Yadav when questioned about MI captaincy in IPL 2025
Ahead of the first T20I against Bangladesh, SKY, who addressed a press conference in Gwalior, was asked if he would want to captain in the IPL. However, the 34-year-old was quick to drop a cheeky response, leaving everyone in laughter. When asked about his ambitions of captaining MI, SKY replied, “Aapne googly daal diya. (You put me in a spot with a wrong ‘un).”
“Really enjoying this new role (as India captain). When I was playing under Rohit bhai’s captaincy in MI, I used to give my inputs whatever I felt at that time. For India also feeling good. I captained against Sri Lanka previously against Australia and South Africa also. I have learnt from other captains on how to take the team forward,” he added.
“Aage dekhte hain. Chalte rahta hain. Baaki aapko pata toh chal hee jayega ((Let’s see how it goes. Rest you will know in due course of time),” Surya wittily responded.
Although a clear picture on who will lead the five-time champions in IPL 2025 will be revealed this month as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has set October 31 as deadline for franchises to submit retention list. Moreover, a franchise can retain up to six players with a combination of retention and Right to Match (RTM) card.
Speaking of SKY, he has led India in 10 T20Is, including matches against Australia, South Africa, Sri Lanka. He has scored 392 runs at an average of 39.20 as captain of the side, whereas his best score of 100 came against the Proteas at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. He will now lead the Men in Blue in the three-match T20 series against Bangladesh, starting Sunday, October 6 in Gwalior.