Surya looks to shine the light on his talent yet again

"Heartbroken. This will take some time to sink in," said Suryakumar Yadav in a post on the social media platform X on November 20.

- Ashish Magotra

But time is in short supply for the batter known as SKY. Just four days after the loss to Australia in the final of the ODI World Cup in Ahmedabad, he will become the ninth man to lead the Indian team in a T20I since 2021.

The opponents, Australia, will be familiar yet unfamiliar. Many of their ace players have gone back home but they still have seven from their ODI champions' squad; that includes a certain Travis Head. It is a series that many (players and fans) would have perhaps preferred to sit out but those who have been named, on both sides, have a job to do.

That's professional sport and poor scheduling for you.

"It is difficult," said Yadav ahead of the first T201. "It will take time. You can't just get up the next morning and forget everything else. Obviously, we would have loved to win but then, as you say, when you get up next morning, there is sunlight again... light at the end of the tunnel. You have to forget and move on."