In the Asia Cup 2025 clash against Oman, India captain Suryakumar Yadav stayed off the crease despite eight wickets down. While Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma added key runs, SKY’s move to No.11 left fans puzzled and sparked widespread debate.
Team India T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav did not come out to bat despite the fall of eight wickets in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025 group stage match against Oman at Sheik Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi on Friday, September 11. The Oman match is a dead rubber for Team India as the defending champions have already qualified for the Super 4 stage of the Asia Cup 2025.
Opting to bat first, the Men in Blue posted a total of 188/8 in 20 overs, Sanju Samson, promoted to No.3, led the batting with a brilliant knock of 56 off 45 balls, while Abhishek Sharma, who laid the foundation for the defendable total on the board, continued to unleash his firepower at the top as he played an innings of 38 off 15 balls.
Apart from Samson and Abhishek, Axar Patel and Tilak Varma also contributed to India’s batting with vital innings of 26 and 29, respectively, while the rest of the lower order managed only a few runs.
Suryakumar did not walk out to bat
As Team India’s innings concluded, one of the major talking points was that Suryakumar Yadav chose not to bat despite eight wickets down. In the last two matches against the UAE and Pakistan, India’s skipper walked in to bat at no.3 and played a crucial knock against the arch-rivals with an unbeaten captain’s knock of 47 off 37 balls to help India chase down the 128-run target in 15.5 overs.
However, Suryakumar Yadav stayed off the crease against Oman throughout India’s batting. After the fall of Shubman Gill’s wicket, Sanju Samson walked in to bat at No.3, which was India’s skipper’s batting spot in the last two matches. Thereafter, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Tilak Varma, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, and Kuldeep Yadav went at the crease, while Suryakumar Yadav remained off the crease.
In the last two matches, Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube, and Tilak Varma got their chances to bat, while other batters did not get a chance to bat, as India’s run-chase..
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Suryakumar Yadav might have decided to sit out batting against Oman in order to give other players a chance to bat and contribute in the dead-rubber match, but the unusual move by the Indian skipper was quite strange, given that the right-handed batter had recently played crucial innings and is normally expected to anchor the middle order.
Netizens left puzzled by Suryakumar’s demotion to No.11
After the fall of every wicket, Suryakumar Yadav was not seen coming out to bat, leaving fans and cricket analysts speculating about the reasoning behind his unusual decision. The 35-year-old, who usually bats at the top order and in the middle, remained off the crease throughout India’s innings, prompting widespread discussion on social media.
Taking to their X handles (formerly Twitter), Indian cricket fans were bewildered by Suryakumar’s decision to opt out to bat against Oman, while others believed that it was disrespectful to the Oman team by not taking the opportunity to face the bowlers and contribute to the chase in a completed innings.
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Meanwhile, India successfully completed their innings, posting a competitive total of 188/8, with the lower-order batters, especially Tilak Varma and Harshit Rana, stepping up to ensure the team remained in control of the dead-rubber encounter.
Oman, on the other hand, are already out of the Asia Cup 2025 after defeats against the UAE and Pakistan, and will look to end their maiden campaign in the tournament on a good note.