“Before you blink, he’s back on his way to the dugout” - Former captain’s brutal attack on Suryakumar Yadav after IND vs ENG 2025 3rd T20I

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has lambasted Suryakumar Yadav for persisting with his ultra-aggressive approach despite the situation not calling for it. The India T20I captain's poor form continued after he scored only 14 runs in the third T20I against England at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot on Tuesday, January 28.

Chasing 172 for a third successive win in the series, India lost Sanju Samson (3) early. Suryakumar Yadav came in at No. 3 and began on a positive note, scoring a couple of boundaries in the early stages of his innings. India were 48-2 after five overs when the right-handed batter decided to capitalize on the last over of the powerplay by taking on Mark Wood.

However, the attempt to play his trademark flick behind square led to a top-edge, ending in a comfortable catch for Phil Salt.

Michael Vaughan opined that the run chase in the third T20I was the perfect opportunity for Suryakumar Yadav to take his time instead of going berserk from the word go.

"When you say be aggressive all the time, it is choosing the right ball to be aggressive to. Clearly you cannot hit every single ball to the boundary. For India to be the team they are, they are the world champions for a reason, they need their best players in form," Vaughan said (via Cricbuzz).

"Only way the players get into good form is by spending time in the middle. At the minute, Suryakumar Yadav is going out there, hitting a few good shots, and before you blink, he is back on his way to the dugout, without making too much of a contribution," he added.

Suryakumar Yadav has only played 17 deliveries in the series so far, scoring 26 runs at a strike rate of 152.94. He began the series with a duck in Kolkata, following up with a couple of bleak cameos.

"You're not chasing 210-220" - Michael Vaughan questions Suryakumar Yadav's approach in third T20I

Suryakumar Yadav took over as India's T20 captain after their 2024 T20 World Cup victory. However, he has struggled for form since then, recording two fifties in the last 13 matches, and has failed to record double figures in five of those matches.

Vaughan felt Suryakumar Yadav should have taken his time to construct his innings to chase down the target in the third T20I against England.

"If there was ever a time for him to just step back and go from fifth gear to third gear, just to give himself a chance to get in, it was probably now. You're not chasing 210-220, the target was a reasonable one, just to play sensibly and chase it down," Vaughan said in the same discussion.

Team India will face England in the fourth T20I of the series at the MCA Stadium in Pune on Friday, January 31. The Men in Blue have a 2-1 lead, with two matches remaining.