"He has been very cool…" Suryakumar Yadav reveals he wanted to play under MS Dhoni's captaincy

Suryakumar Yadav highlighted the qualities of former captains MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma.

Indian Cricket Team’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav made a massive revelation, saying that he always wanted to play under MS Dhoni’s captaincy but never got the opportunity. He also highlighted the leadership qualities of Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma and Dhoni.

Suryakumar Yadav made his international debut in 2021 and is arguably one of the best T20I batters going in the world cricket. He made his debut under Virat Kohli’s captaincy but played majority of his career under Rohit Sharma. His heroics with the bat also earned him the Indian T20I captaincy after retirement of Rohit and Kohli following the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 win.

Suryakumar has done a wonderful job as captain ever since he has been given the role. Last month, he led Men in Blue to Asia Cup 2025 title, where India defeated Pakistan in the final. The Suryakumar Yadav & Co. were also unbeaten during the tournament, winning seven games in a row.

Always wanted to get an opportunity when MS Dhoni was the captain of India: Suryakumar Yadav

Speaking at JITO Connect 2025 event, Suryakumar said that he always wanted to play under Dhoni’s captaincy. He also said that he has played against him in Indian Premier League (IPL) and Dhoni looks very calm on the field.

“Firstly, I always wanted to get an opportunity when he was the captain of India. But I never got it. I saw him behind the stumps whenever I played against him. He has been very cool. One thing that I have learned from him when I played against him is to stay relaxed in all pressure situations, he looks around the game, sees around what is happening and then takes a call,” he said.

Speaking about Kohli’s captaincy, the 35-year-old said that he pushes one’s limits and always wants the best. He also noted that Kohli is very energetic on and off the field.

“I think I made my debut under Virat bhai as captain. I think Virat bhai is a very hard task master. He pushes your limits, and he wants the best. I mean, all the captains want the best from all the players, but he was full of energy on the field and off the field as well. He was a bit different,” he said.

Notably, Suryakumar has played many games under Rohit’s captaincy for India as well as the Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL. He said that Rohit is someone who makes everyone comfortable around him.

“Then Rohit bhai, under whom I played a lot of cricket for the IPL franchise and India. He is someone who gets everyone comfortable around them, an inspiration to all youngsters. His door was open 24/7 for everyone. That’s a different quality which I learnt from him and also from the other captains,” he said.

Meanwhile, Suryakumar will next lead India in the T20I series against Australia. India are scheduled to face Australia in five T20I games from October 29 to November 8. Rohit and Kohli have returned to the national team for the ODI series against Australia, scheduled to be played from October 19 to 25.

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