New Delhi: Suryakumar Yadav-led India stand only a couple of steps away from history, having made it to the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2026. India will lock horns with England in the second semifinal of the tournament at the iconic Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Thursday, March 05.
India have not enjoyed the perfect campaign in the tournament so far and have had their share of ups and downs. However, the defending champions remain the favourites to become the first team in the tournament’s history to clinch back-to-back titles, having won the last edition in 2024.
Nonetheless, India are set to face one of their biggest test in the tournament yet against England, who have been in exceptional form in the competition. Despite their top order misfiring, England ended their Super Eight campaign unbeaten to make it to the semifinals, thanks to their incredible batting depth.
Ahead of the much-anticipated semifinal against England, skipper Suryakumar’s abysmal record against big teams in World Cups is a huge worry for Team India. Suryakumar, who is currently playing his fifth World Cup (ODI and T20I combined), has managed only two half-centuries against Test-playing nations in the tournaments.
Despite being one of India’s best batters in the shortest format over the last few years, Suryakumar’s record in World Cups is far from impressive. The Indian skipper has almost a negligible impact for India in crucial matches against big teams in the five World Cups that he has been part of.
Only two half-centuries against big teams in T20 World Cup
Suryakumar is currently featuring for India in his fourth T20 World Cup, having made his debut in the tournament in 2021. The Indian skipper’s overall record in the tournament is decent as he has notched up 711 runs in 25 matches at an average of 39.5 so far, including six half-centuries.
However, only two of the six half-centuries have come against big teams. He scored 68 against South Africa in Perth in the 2022 T20 World Cup and notched up a 53-run knock against Afghanistan in the last edition of the T20 World Cup in 2024. Barring these two knocks, all four of his half-centuries have come against non-Test-playing nations.
Suryakumar has scored two half-centuries against USA, one against Netherlands, and one against Zimbabwe in the T20 World Cup. In the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026, Suryakumar has scored 231 runs in seven matches, including a match-winning 84 against USA. However, he has since failed to score a fifty in the tournament, while his run rate has also dropped significantly.
“I was looking at Suryakumar Yadav’s numbers. When you check his World Cup numbers, you find that his overall numbers are excellent. He has scored two half-centuries against USA, out of which one was very important. It was a phenomenal knock. But outside of the associate nations or the minnows, with due respect, he actually has only two half-centuries in World Cups,” former India opener Aakash Chopra pointed out, highlighting concerns around Suryakumar’s number against big teams.
“This is his fourth T20 World Cup. If we include the ODI one, this is his fifth World Cup, but only two half-centuries have come against good big teams. One came against South Africa in Perth, and the other came against Afghanistan in the last World Cup. Apart from that, he hasn’t scored a fifty against any big team in the World Cup, and that, in my opinion, is a little worrying because he is such a mighty player,” Chopra added.
Since his 84-run knock against USA in India’s opener, Suryakumar has managed only 147 runs in the next six matches at a much inferior strike rate, highlighting a huge drop off. While he has only two fifties against big teams in four editions of the T20 World Cup, Suryakumar failed to notch up even a single fifty in his maiden ODI World Cup appearance in 2023.
The star batter ended the tournament with a dismal 106 runs in seven innings as India made it to the final, where they lost to Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.