Suryakumar Yadav has broken his silence after being dropped from the Indian team soon after leading the side to the T20 World Cup title. Yadav, who had lifted the trophy as captain and remained unbeaten in series during his tenure, has shared his thoughts as to how he viewed the situation. Suryakumar said he tried to look at the matter from the other side. Yadav asserted that he attempted to understand the thinking of the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel and why it might have felt that the time had come to build India's next T20I team around a different leadership group. After dropping Yadav, Indian management named Shreyas Iyer as the captain of the side ahead of the assignments against Ireland and England. 

"I smiled when my name was not there. Because when I played cricket with the team for a year or two, and whenever I am playing, so whenever I have been in situations like where there is pressure, where things are not going my way, I have always smiled. I have relaxed. And this is what I have seen: the moments in the past when I have had opportunities to do well. I have been grateful," Suryakumar told Aakash Chopra during a discussion.

"Obviously, the situation that has come now, even I had not thought that this would happen. After coming in 2026, I felt that, going forward, I would be taking this team forward for another two years. The Olympics will come. Then there will be another T20 World Cup, another challenge going forward. But at the same time, what you think and what the other person thinks are two different things. It is important for them to respect their own thoughts. If they thought that going forward, this is a better call, they took that call. But I didn't react. Because I felt that this was their call. They took that call in that moment. Going forward, if this team can do well under someone else, no problem," he added.

Under his leadership, India did not record any series defeat and eventually won the T20 World Cup on home soil. Notably, Suryakumar remained flawless as a captain, but his performances with the bat had become a concern. During 2025, he was unable to register a single half-century for India. Even at the T20 World Cup, he wasn’t quite effective. Meanwhile, Yadav lauded Shreyas Iyer’s appointment as captain. 

“I have seen the team that they have chosen. I have also played a lot of cricket with Shreyas. And I know he is a good player, a good human being, and a good captain also. So, I was not like, ‘Why did they make him the captain?’ But yes, I was a little disappointed. Because you have not lost a single series in two years. You have won the World Cup and the Asia Cup. Then you want the same thing to go forward. Because when everything is going well, then why? What is the reason for the change? What is the reason for the change? It was going on in my mind. I was sitting at home for a month and a half,” Yadav said.

“I was thinking, how can this happen? How is it possible? We just won the World Cup. Yes, IPL was not as good as how I wanted. We were sitting at home. Friends came, family came. Everyone said that it's okay. Part of life. But then, when they leave the house. We stay alone at home,” he said.