Suryakumar Yadav can't be hiding in the dugout to make a comeback: Mohammad Kaif

Former cricketer Mohammad Kaif feels India skipper Suryakumar Yadav should have come out to bat at No. 3 instead of his usual No. 4 position in the third T20I of the five-match series against South Africa on Sunday. Suryakumar was dismissed for 12 off 11 in what turned out to be a seven-wicket victory for the hosts at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamshala.

The cricketer-turned-commentator felt Suryakumar, who has not been in the best of forms in international cricket of late, missed the possible opportunity of regaining his confidence by getting some runs under his belt in a chase which was anyway not a high-pressure one. Kaif is a believer of the batter's abilities, but it is the lack of runs that concern him currently.

"Suryakumar Yadav had a chance to bat at No. 3 today. India had won the match and had a successful powerplay. He had the opportunity to bat at No. 3, spend some time in the crease and stay unbeaten at 30 or 40. It would have been good for the upcoming matches. He is a solid player and no one is questioning his ability with the bat," shared Kaif in a video on his YouTube channel.

Furthermore, Kaif also acknowledged that out-of-form batters may have a tendency to second-guess themselves. However, he felt that the Mumbai cricketer should have taken the challenge of promoting himself to the No. 3 spot for the sake of getting to spend more time in the middle instead of sending Tilak Varma, who made 26* off 34, as the Men in Blue chased the target with 25 balls to spare.

"When confidence is down, there are second thoughts, 'whether I should go out to bat or not'. But you have to be brave. You can’t hide in the dugout if you want to make a comeback. You have to face that challenge to rise from that phase. Suryakumar Yadav has done that but he had a good chance in the third T20I. When he did come out to bat, there were hardly runs to be scored. Even if he was not-out, he couldn’t have made more than 20 runs," he added.

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Speaking of Suryakumar's form in T20Is in the recent past, he has scored only 131 runs in 11 innings at a strike rate of 122.42. Only once during these innings has he managed to get past the 30-run mark. With the T20 World Cup 2026 fast approaching, the star batter will have to re-sort his problems with the poor form, and then improve to help the Men in Blue defend their title at home.

Coming to the series, India have taken a 2-1 lead. The fourth and fifth T20Is will be played in Lucknow (December 17) and Ahmedabad (December 19), respectively. A win in the upcoming tie in Lucknow will give India an unassailable lead, whereas, the Proteas can keep the series alive if they get the better of the hosts on Wednesday.