India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav is resting in Munich following sports-hernia surgery that, by all accounts, went according to plan. A brief BCCI note described the procedure as “straight-forward and successful”, adding that the batter will begin light rehab within a fortnight.
“Can’t wait to be back,” Suryakumar posted on social media, a broad grin and thumbs-up accompanying the message from his hospital bed.
The 34-year-old has time on his side. India are midway through their Test series in England, which runs to 4 August, and he is not part of that squad. Nor is he a regular in 50-over cricket these days – his last ODI appearance came in the 2023 World Cup final – so the gap before the white-ball tour of Bangladesh (three ODIs and three T20Is, starting 26 August) offered the ideal recovery window.
Form, at least, is unlikely to desert him. During IPL 2025 he reeled off a world-record 16 successive scores of 25 or more, piling up 717 runs – the most by a non-opener in any IPL season and Mumbai Indians’ single-season best. Mumbai reached the play-offs largely on the back of that consistency.
Since taking over the T20 captaincy after India’s triumphant 2024 World Cup campaign, Suryakumar has pushed an already attacking line-up further. The side has cleared 250 four times and posted 297 against Bangladesh last October, the second-highest total in T20 internationals. Former India opener Wasim Jaffer, speaking on television last week, said, “He’s given the batting unit licence, but there’s also method – they score fast without feeling reckless.”
Sports hernia – a strain or tear near the groin, common among athletes who twist and turn sharply – usually keeps players out for four to six weeks. Dr Ulrike Muschaweck, who oversaw the surgery, told German media the batter should “resume batting drills quickly, provided he listens to his body”.
If rehab stays on schedule, Suryakumar will re-join the squad in Chattogram a few days before the first T20I on 26 August, taking back the reins from stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya. For now, India’s middle order in England watches the rain, the captain watches recovery videos, and everyone waits – quietly confident – for the next burst of shot-making.
