Suryakumar Yadav Biography: Age, Wife, Stats

Key facts

Known for: Cricketer (batter)
Born: 14 Sep 1990, Mumbai, Maharashtra (family from Ghazipur, Uttar Pradesh)
Age: 36 years (as of 14 Nov 2026)
Spouse: Devisha Shetty (m. 7 Jul 2016)

From BARC colony to the Mumbai maidans

Suryakumar Ashok Yadav was born on 14 Sep 1990 in Mumbai. His family's roots are in Ghazipur in eastern Uttar Pradesh, and he grew up in the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) colony in Chembur, where his father, Ashok Kumar Yadav, worked as an engineer. He went to Atomic Energy Central School and later took a B.Com degree from Pillai College.

He was about 10 when he joined a cricket camp in the BARC colony, and he later trained at the Elf Vengsarkar Academy, run by the former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar. Like most Mumbai batters he learned the game in club cricket on the maidans, mostly with Parsi Gymkhana. In November 2026 he told a Mumbai Cricket Association event that as a teenager his only ambition was to play age-group cricket for Mumbai and then earn a first-class cap.

A late bloomer in Mumbai cricket

He made his List A debut for Mumbai against Gujarat in February 2010, played his first T20 a month later and made his first-class debut against Delhi in December 2010. In 2011–12 he was Mumbai's top Ranji Trophy run-scorer, with 754 runs at an average of more than 68, and the BCCI gave him the M. A. Chidambaram Trophy as the best Under-22 cricketer.

The next decade was a long apprenticeship. He scored 788 runs when Mumbai won the 2015–16 Ranji Trophy, captained the side in spells, and kept piling up runs in domestic cricket without an India call-up. That wait is a big part of his story: he was 30 when he finally played for India.

Career milestones

2010
Debut for Mumbai
2014
IPL title with KKR
2021
India debut at 30; six first ball
2022
No. 1 T20I batter; ICC award
2024
Miller catch; named T20I captain
2025
Asia Cup win; IPL MVP
2026
T20 World Cup as captain
2026
Dropped; Mumbai SMAT captain

IPL: KKR, then Mumbai Indians

Mumbai Indians first signed him in 2012 but gave him one match. He moved to Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014, won the IPL with them in his first season and spent four years there, often as a finisher. Mumbai bought him back for the 2018 season, moved him up the order, and he became one of their most consistent batters as they won the 2019 and 2020 titles.

He was one of the five players Mumbai retained before the 2025 mega auction, at ₹16.35 crore, the same fee as Hardik Pandya. That season was the best of his IPL career. He scored 717 runs in 16 innings at an average of 65.18 and a strike rate of nearly 168, and was named the league's Most Valuable Player. Sportstar noted that the only other Mumbai Indians player to win that award was Sachin Tendulkar, in 2010.

IPL 2026 went the other way. India Today reported that he made 270 runs in 13 innings at an average of 20.76, and Mumbai finished second from bottom.

India debut at 30, and the No. 1 ranking

He made his T20I debut against England in Ahmedabad on 14 Mar 2021. In his first innings, four days later, he hit the first ball he faced in international cricket, from Jofra Archer, for six, and went on to a half-century. His ODI debut followed in Sri Lanka in July 2021.

His breakthrough year was 2022. He scored his first T20I century, 117 off 55 balls against England at Trent Bridge, and a second, an unbeaten 111 against New Zealand at Mount Maunganui. He was India's leading batter at the 2022 T20 World Cup and became the world's top-ranked T20I batter. He won the ICC Men's T20I Cricketer of the Year award in 2022 and again in 2023.

Fifty-over cricket never clicked in the same way. He played one Test, against Australia at Nagpur in February 2023, and his ODI average stayed in the mid-20s. He played in the 2023 ODI World Cup, which India lost in the final.

The catch in Barbados

At the 2024 T20 World Cup final against South Africa in Barbados, South Africa needed 16 off the last over. David Miller lofted the first ball towards long-off, and Suryakumar, running along the rope, caught it, tossed it up as he stepped over the boundary and came back in to complete the catch. India won by seven runs. It's one of the most replayed moments in Indian cricket, alongside the batting of Virat Kohli and Axar Patel earlier that evening.

Captain: Asia Cup and a second World Cup

When Rohit Sharma retired from T20Is after that final, Suryakumar was named India's T20I captain in July 2024. He'd already led India in a T20I series against Australia in late 2023. Under him India won the 2025 Asia Cup in the UAE.

His own batting slumped. In 2025 he went the whole year without a T20I half-century, and BBC Sport reported that he made 218 runs in 19 T20 innings that year. The selectors still backed him. When they named the 2026 World Cup squad on 20 Dec 2025, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said, "We have full faith in our captain to deliver during the World Cup." Shubman Gill was left out of that squad, and Axar Patel was named vice-captain.

India, co-hosts with Sri Lanka, then won the 2026 T20 World Cup. They beat New Zealand by 96 runs in the final in Ahmedabad on 8 Mar 2026, becoming the first team to win the T20 World Cup at home and the first to defend the title. Suryakumar became the third Indian captain, after MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma, to lift the trophy. His own tournament was quieter: 242 runs in nine innings at a strike rate of 136.72, according to India Today.

Dropped three months after the trophy

On 6 Jun 2026, the selectors named Shreyas Iyer as India's new T20I captain and left Suryakumar out of the squads for the tours of Ireland and England and for the Asian Games. Agarkar called it "a tough one, having just won the World Cup", and said the decision was "partly his own form, but also looking at the next two-year cycle". Tilak Varma was named vice-captain.

Suryakumar has spoken openly about what followed. "Post the T20 World Cup, it has been a little difficult," he said at a Mumbai Cricket Association function in November 2026. "To be very honest, it has been very difficult." He said the first two months after the IPL were the hardest, and that conversations with his wife, Devisha, helped him get back the "love and passion" he had as a 15-year-old trying to play for Mumbai.

Back to Mumbai, and the 2027 question

ESPNcricinfo reported that he hadn't played top-flight cricket since the IPL, apart from the Mumbai T20 League and club games, and wasn't in Mumbai's Ranji Trophy squad because he lacked red-ball preparation. He's been named Mumbai's captain for the 2026 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which starts on 14 Nov 2026, with Mumbai playing their games in Kolkata. "The main goal is... to win the championship for Mumbai," he said.

The tournament ends 10 days before the IPL mini-auction in Goa on 16 December. There's also a captaincy vacancy at Mumbai Indians: after trading Hardik Pandya to Punjab Kings on 11 November, the franchise said it would announce its captain "at the appropriate time". NDTV listed Suryakumar, Rohit Sharma, Tilak Varma and Jasprit Bumrah as the names being discussed. Nothing has been confirmed.

Suryakumar Yadav: international career (ESPNcricinfo, as of his last international on 8 Mar 2026)
Format	Matches	Runs	Average	100s/50s	Highest score
Tests	1	8	8.00	0/0	8
ODIs	37	773	25.76	0/4	72*
T20Is	113	3,272	36.35	4/25	117

His four T20I centuries all came between July 2022 and December 2023. He hasn't played an ODI since the 2023 World Cup final.

How he bats

He's called "SKY" from his initials and "Mr 360" for his range. He likes to score from the first ball, uses his wrists to hit square on both sides, and is best known for the scoop over fine leg against fast bowling, a shot he plays even to balls on a good length. His career strike rate in T20Is is above 160, which is why selectors put up with lean spells for as long as they did.

Wife Devisha Shetty and daughter

Suryakumar married Devisha Shetty, a dancer and dance teacher, on 7 Jul 2016. They first met at a college event in Mumbai in 2010. Their first child, a daughter, was born on 7 May 2026, during the IPL; he announced it with the line "With giggles, bows, and dreams to unfurl — we welcome our baby girl." They live in Mumbai.

Net worth and earnings

There's no verified figure for his net worth. The public numbers are his IPL fee of ₹16.35 crore a season from Mumbai Indians and a BCCI central contract: he was in Grade B for 2025–26. Totals quoted on celebrity-wealth websites aren't sourced, so we don't repeat them.

Why he matters

Few Indian cricketers have had a career shaped like his: a debut at 30, the world No. 1 ranking within 18 months, two T20 World Cup winners' medals and a title as captain, then the loss of both the captaincy and his place within three months. At 36, he's starting again where he began, as Mumbai's captain in a domestic T20 tournament.

Frequently asked questions

How old is Suryakumar Yadav?

Suryakumar Yadav was born on 14 Sep 1990, so he is 36 years old as of November 2026.

Who is Suryakumar Yadav's wife?

Devisha Shetty, a dancer and dance teacher. They met at a college event in 2010, married on 7 Jul 2016, and their daughter was born on 7 May 2026.

Why was Suryakumar Yadav dropped as India's T20I captain?

On 6 Jun 2026 chief selector Ajit Agarkar said it was partly his form and partly planning for the next two-year World Cup cycle. Shreyas Iyer replaced him as captain.

Is Suryakumar Yadav playing the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2026?

Yes. He's Mumbai's captain for the tournament, which starts on 14 Nov 2026, with Mumbai's matches in Kolkata.

Which IPL team does Suryakumar Yadav play for?

Mumbai Indians, who retained him for ₹16.35 crore before the 2025 auction. He also won the 2014 IPL with Kolkata Knight Riders.

How many T20I centuries has Suryakumar Yadav scored?

Four, all between July 2022 and December 2023. His highest T20I score is 117 against England at Trent Bridge.

Sources

Facts checked against the sources above by Tulasiram Pemmadi on 14 Nov 2026 (IST). Where reliable sources disagree, the article says so. Spotted an error? See our corrections page or email contact@nextplayintel.com.