India's T20 World Cup 2026-winning captain Suryakumar Yadav has seen the highs and lows this year. He was planning for the road ahead, the LA Olympics 2028, the T20 World Cup 2028, when he learnt that he had been sacked as captain and wouldn't go on the UK tour. The disappointment was natural, even though Suryakumar accepted the selectors’ call and put on a brave face. Later, he had an honest conversation with his wife Devisha Shetty. She told the 36-year-old batter to revisit the 15-year-old Suryakumar and find the love and passion to play the game. 

“I sat down and thought about all these things and started chatting with my wife. She said the same thing — I needed to bring back the love and passion for the game that I had when I was a 15-year-old kid, who wanted to represent Mumbai in Under-15 cricket,” Suryakumar said during a T20 Mumbai League Celebration of Champions event on November 10.

Suryakumar is back to normal now, following his routines and is focused on winning the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2026 for Mumbai as skipper. 

“So, that's what I started thinking about, and I am now following the same things I did 10-15 years ago. I am training again, following the same passion and the same love for the game.

“Everything is back to normal now. When you start thinking about it and focus on playing this sport, you want to do well for your team and your family. Things change completely, and that's what I am doing right now.

“The main goal is what I used to think about before, win games for Mumbai and win the championship for Mumbai,” he added.

Mumbai are two-time SMAT winners. They won the title in 2022 and 2024.

Mumbai’s squad for SMAT 2026 -

Suryakumar Yadav (c), Angkrish Raghuvanshi (wk), Divyansh Saxena, Suved Parkar, Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, Sairaj Patil, Shivam Dube, Atharva Ankolekar, Shardul Thakur, Tushar Deshpande, Shams Mulani, Maxwell Swaminathan, Mohit Avasthi, Sylvester D'Souza, Hardik Tamore (wk).

When will Suryakumar be back in action? 

Since his last appearance in May 2026, Suryakumar will mark his return to competitive cricket on November 14 in Mumbai's SMAT opener against Hyderabad at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

The team will also feature India’s hard-hitting all-rounder Shivam Dube, Shardul Thakur and Tushar Deshpande.

Suryakumar’s message to young Mumbai players

While the IPL scouts will keep a close eye on SMAT ahead of the mini-auction on December 16, Suryakumar wants Mumbai players to not make an IPL contract their end goal. He talked about the mentality of Mumbai cricketers who want to play domestic cricket and go on to represent India. 

“See, the end goal, or even the first goal, should never be to think about playing in the IPL. Everyone dreams of playing for India. If you ask any kid playing on the Maidans of Bombay cricket, they won't say they want to play in the IPL,” he said.

“They will first say, ‘I want to represent Mumbai at the age-group level. I want to represent Mumbai in First-Class cricket. I want to have that cap, which is really special.”

“After that, when you do well in domestic cricket and put up terrific performances, you get recognised. That is when everything else comes into the picture.

“So, the first dream has to be playing for India, but you have to take it one step at a time.”

How Suryakumar coped after a disappointing IPL and T20I snub

Suryakumar admitted that he had a difficult phase, but the focus soon shifted to his baby girl, who was born during the IPL.

“To be very honest, it (not being part of the team) has been very difficult. But at the same time, during the IPL, I was blessed with a baby girl in May. The focus shifted completely towards her. The last few months, since she was born, have been very beautiful,” he said.

Mumbai's Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Elite 2026 group stage schedule

Suryakumar set to be retained by MI

There were speculations around whether Suryakumar will be traded by five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians. But MI dismissed reports saying that Suryakumar will be retained by the franchise.

He had a tough IPL season, scoring 270 runs from 13 innings, averaging 20.76. His strike rate dipped from 167.91 in the 2025 edition to 147.54 in 2026. He scored two fifties in the season. MI ended up finishing ninth on the points table.

Despite a lacklustre IPL season, MI will back Suryakumar. However, he is not their choice for the captaincy role. Sports Tak had earlier reported that Rohit Sharma will be reinstated as captain of the franchise for IPL 2027. Their former captain Hardik Pandya has been traded to Punjab Kings (PBKS) for left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh.

Suryakumar set for major milestone

Suryakumar needs 271 more runs to become the third Indian batter to complete 10,000 T20 runs (including T20Is, domestic T20s and the IPL). So far, the feat has been achieved only by Virat Kohli and Rohit. From 347 innings, Suryakumar has 9,729 runs, averaging 34.50. He has six tons and 65 half-centuries in T20 cricket. He is 21 sixes away from completing 450 T20 sixes.

Suryakumar's T20 record in year 2026

In the year 2026, Suryakumar has played 27 games. He has amassed 754 runs at an average of 31.41 and a strike rate of 156.1. He scored six half-centuries. His highest score of the year was 84 not out, which came against the USA after India suffered a collapse.