SURYAKUMAR YADAV could be central to India’s title defence at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, with former England vice-captain and all-rounder Moeen Ali describing the batter as the side’s “proper X factor”.
“Surya (Suryakumar Yadav) is so good. I think he's back in form and he's playing well again. They've got so many good players, but Surya's the player — he's a bit of a freak player and he's just that proper X factor. Unbelievable,” Ali told Eastern Eye.
Yadav is the Indian team's captain in the T20 format and has been one of the top batters in the shortest format of the game.
“They just look like the complete team. I think they're a very, very good side.”
The tenth edition of the 20-overs global showpiece event will run from February 7 to March 8, with tournament co-hosts India set to defend their Twenty20 World Cup title.
Ali, who represented England between 2014 and 2024, was part of the squads that won the 2019 Cricket World Cup and the 2022 T20 World Cup. He made his debut in all three formats in 2014 and announced his international retirement on September 8, 2024.
He believes India are the team to beat. “I think the only real favourites are India. I think they're very strong and at the minute too strong for everybody. But in the World Cup, anything can happen. And I think one of the next best teams would be England for sure.”
He expects England and Pakistan to challenge strongly. “England and I think Pakistan are gonna be the dark horses. They've got some good mystery spin. And if they get the team right, I think they're gonna be right up there as well.”
Moeen Ali made his debut in all three formats in 2014 and announced his international retirement on September 8, 2024.Getty Images
“In T20 cricket, I feel like unless you have mystery spinners, it's difficult to win a home tournament.”
Pakistan have confirmed they will not play the India fixture, a decision Ali said would add pressure but not necessarily derail their campaign. “It just means Pakistan have to perform in all the other games and win all the other games. It puts a bit more pressure on the team. But I genuinely think they've got a very good team.”
Ali also expressed disappointment that the high-profile contest will not take place. “It's a shame, because I think it's the biggest game in the world. I think it's the biggest cricket game in the world. And it's a shame for everybody really. It's been happening for some time now. And hopefully in the future, there's a solution for it.”
Bangladesh are also not part of the tournament, something Ali said affects the competition. “We want to get all these teams playing against each other and playing for the World Cup, because then it feels like a proper World Cup. Otherwise, sometimes it doesn't feel like that.”
Ali said teams such as New Zealand and South Africa are now better prepared for high-pressure moments. “They play under pressure very well now. In the previous years, I think South Africa probably weren't as good under pressure… but they are now.”
He believes England may face the greatest expectations but expects them to cope. “I think the one team, out of all of them, that will be the most under pressure to perform under pressure will be England.”
“I think if England can start really well, they rely heavily on Salt, Brooks as a batting unit and then Rashid and Jofra as a bowling unit. So, if they can get the combination right, I think it would be good.”
Away from the World Cup, Ali explained his decision to play in the Pakistan Super League after several seasons in the Indian Premier League, citing the length of the tournament and a desire to spend more time batting.
“I've been playing IPL for the last eight years, and I've loved it… IPL's almost three months now. You go to the camp before playing and it's a very long time to be away from home. I've always watched PSL and I've always enjoyed watching it. For my own game, I wanted to go and bat… I'm 38 and I want to play and I want to bat. I feel Pakistan wickets are very good to bat on. The competition's five weeks. It's a great competition. Three months in IPL is very difficult now and it's not something I wanted to do.”
Multan Sultans' Moeen Ali plays a shot during the Pakistan Super League (PSL) T20 cricket match between Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans in Multan on February 28, 2020.Getty Images
Since retiring from international cricket, Ali remains active in franchise cricket and media work and will serve as a pundit during the tournament.
“And now I've got the opportunity to go to the World Cup with Sky Sports and be a pundit there. It's something I'm really, really excited and looking forward to doing because I've been watching cricket and Sky Sports all my life.”
In domestic cricket, Ali plays for Yorkshire and has previously represented Worcestershire and Warwickshire, while also featuring in multiple Twenty20 leagues around the world. On June 7, 2023, he briefly returned from Test retirement following an injury to first-choice spinner Jack Leach ahead of the Ashes series before retiring from the format again at the end of the contest.
Ali also spoke about his YouTube channel and podcast (@BeardBeforeWicket) with Adil Rashid. “It's something that just came up and we started to do and people enjoy watching it.”
“We get some players on, we get the cricketers on, and at the minute it's doing okay, it's doing well and people enjoy it and that's all about it,” he said.
(Sky Sports is the exclusive home of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, showing all matches live between 7 February through to the final on 8 March. Also available on NOW.)
