Suryakumar Yadav is India’s most successful T20 captain — So why is his legacy still undefined?

He faces the sternest challenge yet on Sunday, a virtual quarterfinal against the West Indies. If he leaps over the hurdle, the game would be forgotten. If his team slips, it would be remembered as his Waterloo, the battle that killed the general. The match wouldn’t define him, but it could deny him his legacy of winning a World Cup, the first to defend the title too. If he fumbles at Eden, he would be recounted as the captain that gave the cup away, although it’s a harsh judgment.

ALSO READ | T20 World Cup: Indian bowling leaves a lot to be desired ahead of must-win clash against dangerous West Indies

A straightforward contest on paper against a notoriously mercurial team, the fixture could be the treacherous quicksand that could drown his team. The most fearful aspect of the West Indies is their unpredictability. There could be days, like against South Africa in Ahmedabad, where they would look detached and dispirited; there could also be days where they look unstoppable. Shai Hope’s team has more glaring gashes than Surya’s but they are a wildly electric bunch who could drive oppositions into helplessness.

The biggest headache for Surya is how even batting units with modest ammo down the order have managed to stretch India. The USA recovered from 13/3 to 132, South Africa from 20/3 to 187/7. The unwavering eyes on batting malfunctions had deflected attention from the ailments of their bowling dysfunctions.

India’s Shivam Dube listens to captain Suryakumar Yadav during the T20 World Cup 2026 match against the Netherlands in Ahmedabad. (PHOTO: AP)

There is a disturbing sequence. Inevitably, India start well with the new ball and then digress. The seam trio hands them the ascendancy before the grip loosens from the palms of the spinners, even in games where dew has been negligible. The travails of India’s batsmen on lethargic decks have dominated the pundits’ pen, but the torments of their spinners on such tracks have hurt Surya’s men more.

Few countries have such glittering riches of spinners as India, so much so that even Kuldeep Yadav finds himself on the fringes. But their performances have fluctuated. Varun Chakravarthy, the lead act, was exceptional in the group stage but the Super Eights have witnessed an indifference in his length-precision and accuracy in general. Spinners in their format are often a bad game away from losing their rhythm. The punishing nature of the tournament is such that it gives little time for instant recovery. Varun has not breathed quite the same threat after the Ahmedabad pasting.

ALSO READ | West Indies revive spirit and six-hitting formula from 2016 T20 World Cup triumph

Nothing, though, would warm Varun more than the sight of the ground where his career soared. His form is central to India’s journey. Surya and the team management have stubbornly trusted players out of form. They would not rip their hair about his form after two anomalous games. Equally worrying is that he has been bereft of support from the other end, with Varun’s spin accomplice unable to tie things up. Washington Sundar, the lone spinner against South Africa, leaked 17 in two overs. Axar Patel leaked 35 in four against Zimbabwe.

Surya has resorted to medium-pace alternatives, but without luck. If Hardik Pandya turns expensive one game (4-0-45-0 against South Africa), Shivam Dube would be profligate in the next (his last five overs have been ransacked for 78 runs). In the usually claustrophobic middle overs, India have yielded 100 runs against Zimbabwe and 111 versus South Africa. West Indies have power-hitters more daunting than those of the African adversaries, on a ground with unchallenging dimensions and on a surface that could be a belter. Clumsy fielding has not aided the middle-over stifle, but Surya has a complex riddle to solve.

Offering more than one over to Bumrah blunts India’s death-over sharpness. Arshdeep was exemplary against Zimbabwe, nailing his incisive yorkers, but has an overall economy rate of 8.11 from overs 16 to 20. Dube and Hardik are not failsafe options either. Surya is not reputed for left-field tactics or high-risk inventive strategies. He tends to go a trifle defensive when his Plan A goes kaput, as it played out in the middle overs against the Proteas.

The batsmen sang a redemption song in Chennai, but whether it was a one-hit wonder or the sign of the concert hitting a crescendo is unsure. The Super Eight game against West Indies could not define Surya’s captaincy legacy, but it could easily break it.