Why Suryakumar Yadav was retained and Gill wasn’t: Mohammad Kaif breaks it down

Former India batter Mohammad Kaif believes Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill cannot be judged by the same standards when it comes to their place in India’s T20 setup. According to Kaif, proven match-winners deserve extended backing during lean phases, even if their recent numbers do not inspire confidence.

Kaif backed the BCCI’s decision to exclude vice-captain Shubman Gill from India’s T20 World Cup squad while retaining Suryakumar Yadav as captain. Although both batters have struggled for runs in 2025, the Mumbai stalwart’s past dominance in the shortest format tilted the scales in his favour.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif underlined that Suryakumar’s body of work in T20 cricket has earned him patience from selectors — something Gill is still working towards at the international level.

“There is a difference in the cases of Gill and Surya. Surya has been a proven match-winner in T20s. He has topped the ICC rankings and won games for India. We cannot compare the two. Gill still has to prove himself in this format for the Indian team,” Kaif said.

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Drawing parallels with Virat Kohli’s prolonged lean patch during the COVID years, Kaif explained why reputation matters at the highest level. “Kohli did not score runs for almost two years, but he was backed because he had been a match-winner for a decade. He eventually came out of that phase. Surya falls in that same category. Gill is nowhere close to Surya in T20s. Saying both should be dropped because they are out of form is not right. Surya has earned this backing.”

While defending Suryakumar’s place in the side, Kaif acknowledged that his recent struggles need closer examination. However, he insisted that dropping him should not be an option.

“He cannot be dropped. Surya has to be backed. The focus should be on understanding where he is going wrong and why the runs are not coming. Is captaincy putting extra pressure on him? Is that affecting his batting? That is the real question,” Kaif said.

Kaif added that Suryakumar must introspect to find a way out of the slump. “He is a solid T20 player. The question is how he can come out of this phase. He needs to assess whether his energy is being diverted elsewhere or whether his technique is being exposed. He has to find those answers himself.”