Suryakumar Yadav was preparing to lead India in the next T20 World Cup and the Olympics in 2028 when he heard he had been dropped as both player and captain.

"I smiled after spotting that my name isn't there," he said on Aakash Chopra's YouTube channel. "Whenever I have been in pressure situations or when things aren't going in my favour, I've always smiled, relaxed. I have looked back at the moments and been grateful. I didn't think this would happen in 2026. I was under the impression that I am preparing to take this team forward for another two years - Olympics, another T20 World Cup and then another challenge going forward."

Suryakumar, 35, led the team to victory in 42 of 50 completed T20Is and secured them a world title at home in March 2026. That final against New Zealand turned out to be the last time he played for India with the selectors appointing Shreyas Iyer as the new full-time T20I captain.

"The guy they've picked, I have played a lot of cricket with him," Suryakumar said. "I know he's a good player, good human being, good captain also. So, I didn't resent the decision but was disappointed because we didn't lose a series for two years, won Asia Cup, T20 World Cup - you want the same thing to go forward. When everything is going well, then why the change?"

Suryakumar is one of India's brightest talents in T20 cricket. He is their third-highest run-getter in the format and his ability to play shots all around the ground turned him into a mainstay of the Mumbai Indians line-up, and then earned him the India T20 captaincy, on a full-time basis, when Rohit Sharma retired.

"For one-and-a-half months I kept thinking, how can this happen? How is it possible? We just won the World Cup. Yes, IPL wasn't as good as how I wanted," Suryakumar said. "Friends and family consoled me that this is part of life. But once they leave, you are alone with your family. We were thinking, how is it possible?

"They [India selectors] called me two-three days before the team was announced. They said, 'I think it's time to move on. How's it going? You saw what happened in IPL.' I didn't react because it's not my forte. Whatever call was taken, the person must've felt it's in the best interest of the team. You took the call, informed me, no harm done."

Suryakumar still retains the ambition to play for India again. "I am ready, I am still playing, will continue to do so. Whenever you feel the time is right, things are right, call me."