Suryakumar Yadav in action© AFP
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah wished India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav on his 34th birthday on Saturday, adding that he's excited to see him lead the team to more wins in the shortest format. "Happy Birthday to our T20I skipper and Mr. 360 with the bat, @surya_14kumar! I'm excited to see you lead the Men in Blue to many victories in the shortest format. Best wishes for the year ahead!” wrote Shah on his ‘X' account. Suryakumar, who also held the top ranking in the men's T20I rankings, etched himself forever into cricketing folklore with his stunning relay catch at long-off of David Miller in this year's T20 World Cup final at Kensington Oval in Barbados, which eventually paved the way for India to end an 11-year drought of winning a global title.
Devisha Shetty, Suryakumar's wife, also posted a heartfelt note on her Instagram account on the right-handed batter's birthday. "Happy happy birthday to my best friend, husband, lover, my world and the best decision of my life! Thankful for you every single day. You make this world a better place and I don't know what I'd do without you. love you now and forever," she wrote.
Since his international debut in 2021, Suryakumar has firmly established himself as one of the greats of T20I batting, though his ODI and Test career hasn't reached those heights yet. Suryakumar has been out of action after sustaining a hand injury during Mumbai's match against TNCA XI at the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament in Coimbatore, leading him to miss the ongoing Duleep Trophy.
On the international cricket front, Suryakumar will be back in action to captain India in three T20Is against Bangladesh to be held in Gwalior, New Delhi, and Hyderabad on October 6, 9, and 12 respectively. The last time Bangladesh toured India, it was in 2019, where they lost the three-match T20I series 2-1.
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