Former England captain Michael Vaughan believes India would be stupid to look beyond Suryakumar Yadav after the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026. SKY, 35, has led India from the front and he has been one of the best T20I batters in the world.

The right-hander went through a rough patch in 2025 but he has been able to turn the tables in 2026. SKY scored 242 runs in five matches against New Zealand and was awarded Player of the Series. In the opening match of the T20 World Cup 2026 against the USA, India found themselves under the cosh at 77-6 however SKY scored a match-winning knock of 84 runs off just 49 balls.

With players like Shreyas Iyer, Shubman Gill and Hardik Pandya waiting in the wings for the leadership role, pressure will be there on SKY to deliver as a captain.

“I would say India would be stupid to look beyond SKY (Suryakumar Yadav) after the T20 World Cup. I think he is a genius,” Michael Vaughan said on Cricbuzz.

On the other hand, Tilak Varma has managed 107 runs in five matches of the World Cup at an average of 21.40 and a strike rate of 118.88. The left-hander wasn’t able to convert his starts into substantial scores in the group stage. Vaughan urged the left-hander to improve his strike rate in the upcoming matches.

“He would probably want his strike rate to be a bit higher. But I think when you are looking at the whole line-up, you got to have variations, you got to have consistent performers. Sometimes by being consistent, your strike rate is not quite as high as the others,” Vaughan said.

India will next take on Zimbabwe at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai, on Thursday.