Suryakumar Yadav (born 14 September 1990), known as SKY, is an Indian cricketer and the captain of India’s T20 international team. He is famous for hitting the ball to every part of the ground with inventive strokes, which earned him the label “360-degree batter”. He made his India debut only at 30, became the world’s top-ranked T20I batter within two years, and took the boundary catch in the last over of the 2024 T20 World Cup final that helped India win the title.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Suryakumar Ashok Yadav |
| Born | 14 September 1990, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Age | 36 |
| Role | Middle-order batter (right-handed) |
| International debut | T20I March 2021, ODI July 2021, Test February 2023 |
| Domestic team | Mumbai |
| IPL teams | Mumbai Indians (2012–2013, 2018–), Kolkata Knight Riders (2014–2017) |
| Captaincy | India T20I captain (since July 2024) |
| Spouse | Devisha Shetty (m. 2016) |
| Honours | ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year (2022, 2023) |
Early Life
Yadav was born in Mumbai to a family from Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh. His father, Ashok Kumar Yadav, was an engineer at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, and Surya grew up in its staff colony at Anushakti Nagar in Chembur. He chose cricket over badminton as a boy, trained at academies in Mumbai and studied commerce at Pillai College.
Career
Yadav made his first-class debut for Mumbai in 2010 and was the team’s top scorer in his first Ranji Trophy season. He spent four seasons at Kolkata Knight Riders, mostly as a finisher, and was part of their 2014 title-winning squad. Moving to Mumbai Indians in 2018, he batted higher in the order and scored more than 400 runs in three seasons running, winning the IPL in 2019 and 2020. Many felt his India call-up was overdue.
He finally made his T20I debut against England at Ahmedabad in March 2021, aged 30, and hit his first ball in international cricket for six. In 2022 he scored 1,164 T20I runs, the most by an Indian in a calendar year, including a century at Trent Bridge, and rose to number one in the ICC rankings. He was named ICC T20I Cricketer of the Year for both 2022 and 2023.
In the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup against South Africa in Barbados, with 16 needed from the last over, Yadav caught David Miller on the long-off boundary, tossing the ball up as he stepped over the rope and coming back in to complete the catch off Hardik Pandya. India won by seven runs. After Rohit Sharma retired from the format, Yadav was appointed T20I captain in July 2024. Under him India won the 2025 Asia Cup, beating Pakistan in the final.
Personal Life
Yadav married Devisha Shetty, a dance coach he met at college, in 2016. He has several tattoos, including portraits of his parents on his arm.
Major Titles
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Suryakumar Yadav born?
Suryakumar Yadav was born on 14 September 1990 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India and is 36 years old.
What is Suryakumar Yadav’s role?
Role: Middle-order batter (right-handed).
What honours has Suryakumar Yadav received?
ICC Men’s T20I Cricketer of the Year (2022, 2023).
Featured image: Suryakumar Yadav with his wife, Devisha Shetty, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi after India’s T20 World Cup win, New Delhi, 4 July 2024. Photo by Prime Minister’s Office, licensed under Government Open Data License – India, via Wikimedia Commons.
