That’s been one of the popular refrains in the last 24 hours, after India’s selection panel, helmed by Ajit Agarkar, decided to dump the vice-captain for the title defence of the T20 World Cup early next year, but kept faith with the equally misfiring skipper who, if it were possible, has even worse figures than his disappointing former deputy.

Since his return to the T20I set-up after 13 months this September at the Asia Cup, Gill has a highest of 47 in 15 matches. 47 (not out) is also Suryakumar’s highest in 2025, in 19 innings that have produced nine single-digit efforts and a mere two 25-plus scores.

Why Suryakumar can’t be wished away despite Skyfall

Gill is 26, Suryakumar is 35; the latter is closer to the end of his career than the Punjab right-hander is, but if Suryakumar has been entrusted with the captaincy despite his terribly underwhelming returns almost immediately from when he took over as India’s T20I captain from Rohit Sharma in July last year, it isn’t without good reason.

Unlike Gill, who has struggled to impose himself, Suryakumar has looked the part when he has got off to a start, but he has found ways of getting himself out. That is no consolation, not for someone who was a long-term occupant of the throne of the No. 1 T20I batter in the world, but who has slid to a more modest No. 10 – in itself a bit of a surprise given how thin his recent volume of runs is but also testimony to how dominant he was for a great period of time before the prolonged lean patch.

For the first time, Suryakumar conceded at the press conference to announce the World Cup 15 in Mumbai on Saturday that he was seriously out of form. After the Asia Cup in the UAE when he led all-win India to the title after a gripping finale against Pakistan, the Mumbaikar shrugged off concerns about his lack of runs, insisting that he was ‘not out of form, but out of runs.’ This was after he stumbled to 72 runs in six innings – most of them (47*) coming in one league knock against Pakistan – at an unedifying strike-rate of 101.40.

Prior to the Asia Cup, Suryakumar netted 26 runs in three innings in South Africa last November (when he famously ceded his No. 3 slot to Tilak Varma) and 28 in five digs at home against England in January. After the Asia Cup triumph, he showed a hint of promise with 84 runs (strike-rate 171.42) in four outings in Australia in October but reverted to recent type with just 34 runs in the 3-1 defeat of South Africa last week.

All this presents a grim picture of sustained struggle against high-quality bowling attacks, but it’s not as if Suryakumar has a specific problem or that he has courted a worryingly similar mode of dismissal. There has been no discernible pattern, which is perhaps both good and bad – good because there isn’t one single great weight pressing down on him, bad because it’s not as he if can work zealously on ironing out a specific chink that is holding him back.

Suryakumar has earned more brownie points than Gill even though he has only two half-centuries in 28 innings since being appointed the full-time captain because under him, India have won everything there is to win – 3-0 in Sri Lanka in his maiden series as skipper in his own right in July last year, by a similar margin against Bangladesh at home last October, 3-1 in South Africa in November last, 4-1 at home against England in January, a perfect 7-0 at the Asia Cup in September, 2-1 in Australia in October and now 3-1 against South Africa.

Even if the captain has failed to live up to his lofty standards, it is impossible to even contemplate leaving him out when the team is in such all-conquering form. Would India have liked more runs from Suryakumar during his tremendous surge? Sure. Is Suryakumar happy to continue to search for the big edifices when his team is on a fabulous run? Of course not, because he is a proud individual who will smile and acknowledge that he would be happy to keep failing so long as the team is winning when he is hurting badly on the inside because he is letting himself and his colleagues down.

Unlike in Gill’s case, the experts are unanimous that Suryakumar is one meaningful hit away from becoming the behemoth he once used to. The captain has five innings (next month against New Zealand) to rediscover his inner beast, but he won’t do so if he is anxious, overkeen and desperate. He has time – and the technology – to figure out what worked well when he was destroying niche attacks. It may not appear so right now, when he seems desperately to be searching for his next run, but Suryakumar the destroyer will be back, make no mistake. And not very long from now.