T20 World Cup-winning skipper Suryakumar Yadav has opened up about why he plays predominantly T20 cricket while remaining largely absent from Tests and One-Day Internationals (ODIs). In an exclusive podcast interview with PTI, the Mumbai batter said that while he yearns to play Test cricket, ODI never quite became his format, and T20 has become his natural forte.

The 35-year-old reflected on his journey, recalling that he began his career playing red-ball cricket in Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy for over a decade. “I started with red-ball cricket itself, played Ranji Trophy for 10-12 years… everything is around red ball,” he said. Despite his deep grounding in Test cricket, Suryakumar explained that his shift toward white-ball formats, especially T20, happened gradually over the years.

On his preference for T20, he said, “T20 mein jaisa chal raha tha, usme apna haath set ho gaya hai” — roughly meaning he has mastered the shortest format and is comfortable playing it. While he attempted to establish himself in ODIs, Suryakumar admitted, “I also tried a lot in One-Day cricket to play well in it, but nothing happened there.”

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Asked whether he would like to play Test cricket, he expressed enthusiasm but acknowledged the reality of his age and limited opportunities. “I would love to, because… I played red ball cricket from 2010-11 to 2020. Ten years is a long time to play red ball, and I was in love with that format. But yeah, obviously, given an opportunity, who wouldn't want to play Test?” His sole Test appearance came in 2023 against Australia in Nagpur, where he scored eight runs.

Suryakumar also discussed the challenges of ODI cricket, describing it as a format that requires three different batting approaches depending on the situation. “Sometimes if you go in early, if wickets fall quickly, then you have to bat like Test cricket. Then you have to bat with a good strike rate like a One Day and later at the end, like T20,” he explained, adding that this complexity made the format difficult for him.

Despite his T20 specialization, Suryakumar acknowledged the charm of all formats. Recalling the 2023 ODI World Cup, he said, “The vibe, the whole atmosphere of that format… was completely different than what we played in the 2026 and 2024 T20 World Cup. So, its charm is different, ODI cricket also has a different charm, T20 has a different one.”

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