Just Not On, Shocking: Virat Kohli's Ex-Teammate Slams Suryakumar Yadav For 'Selfishness' During Second T20I, Engages In War Of Words With Fans

Suryakumar Yadav, on Thursday (December 14), scored a sensational century to help India thrash South Africa by 106 runs in the third and final T20I and draw the series.

India had their back against the wall after losing the second game by 5 wickets (DLS method) in which they had failed to defend 152 runs in 15 overs. With the series on the line, India needed a strong performance, and Suryakumar Yadav rose to the occasion.

The captain led from the very front and scored the fourth T20I century of his career to set the foundation for a thumping win over the hosts. Asked to bat first, India were reeling at 29 for 2 after losing Shubman Gill (8) and Tilak Varma (0) cheaply. It was followed by a 112-run stand between the captain and Yashasvi Jaiswal who scored 60 runs off 41 balls.

Suryakumar Yadav, on the other end, went on to make the most of the start and completed a fine century. He was eventually dismissed for 100 off 56 balls. Thanks to his whirlwind knock, India posted a huge total of 201 for 7 in the allotted 20 overs. In reply, South Africa were all out for just 95 runs with left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav picking up 5 wickets for just 17 runs.

Suryakumar Yadav faces criticism for refusing single:

While Suryakumar Yadav is receiving praise from all around for his century, he is also facing criticism from several quarters for his decision to refuse a single when he was batting with wicketkeeper-batsman Jitesh Sharma. The India captain was on 98 when Jitesh hit the ball towards deep backward point on the final ball of the 19th over.

The Mumbai star, however, decided against taking a single in order to face the first ball of the 20th over. On the first ball, he took a double to complete his century. His decision to refuse a single while batting with a proper batsman, however, has not gone down well with many including Virat Kohli’s former U19 teammate Shreevats Goswami.

Soon after the incident, Goswami took to X to criticise Suryakumar Yadav, writing: “Not sure when the transition took place from cricket being a team game to a individual game ? Just not on !! #shocking “

And when some fans quickly dragged Virat Kohli as well as few other players who had done the same in the past, he wrote: “Aajkal ki generation inti bewakoof hai ki likho kuch aur lekin yeh ghuma fhira ke plot twist hi kar dete hai ? ismein Virat Kohli aur baki players ka kya lena dena. (The current generation is so foolish that you write something else, but they twist it around with a plot twist. What does it have to do with Virat Kohli and other players?)

“Regardless of how many runs or how big a player you are or what the situation is unless there is a tailender with you,this is not on . What is so tough to understand,” he added.

Aajkal ki generation inti bewakoof hai ki likho kuch aur lekin yeh ghuma fhira ke plot twist hi kar dete hai ? ismein Virat Kohli aur baki players ka kya lena dena.regardless of how many runs or how big a player you are or what the situation is unless there is a tailender with… https://t.co/Oj4jREzcQA

— Shreevats goswami (@shreevats1) December 14, 2023