Suryakumar Yadav and Wife Visit Tirupati Temple on Vaikuntha Ekadashi

Suryakumar Yadav, the captain of India's T20I cricket team, and his wife Devisha Shetty, visited the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirupati to offer prayers on Vaikuntha Ekadashi. Their visit highlighted the cultural and spiritual values upheld by athletes. Following their darshan, they received blessings from the priests and participated in temple rituals. Suryakumar recently led India to victory in a T20I series against South Africa and is preparing to captain the team in an upcoming series against New Zealand ahead of the T20 World Cup.

By Narendra Chaudhary Dec 30, 2025, 13:30 IST

A Spiritual Journey for India's T20I Captain

Tirupati: Suryakumar Yadav, the captain of India's T20I cricket team, along with his wife Devisha Shetty, visited the Sri Venkateswara Swamy Temple in Tirumala, Andhra Pradesh, to offer their prayers on the auspicious occasion of Vaikuntha Ekadashi.

During their visit, they prayed to Lord Venkateswara and passed through the Vaikuntha Dwaram, the celestial gate, thanks to the arrangements made by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams (TTD) officials.

The couple received a warm welcome from both the temple staff and fellow devotees. Dressed in traditional attire, they participated in the rituals, reflecting the deep cultural and spiritual values that many Indian athletes maintain despite their hectic schedules.

This morning, they had the darshan of the Lord, after which priests blessed them at the Ranganayakulavari Mandapam within the temple. They also offered Tirtha Prasadam and presented the vestments of the Lord.

Suryakumar's latest performance for India was in the recently concluded T20I series against South Africa, where he successfully led the team to a 3-1 victory. He is set to captain the team again in a five-match T20I series against New Zealand in January 2026, which will serve as a crucial preparation ahead of the T20 World Cup starting on February 7.

India enters the tournament as the defending champions, having clinched the T20 World Cup title in 2024 in Barbados by defeating South Africa in the final.

India's Squad for T20 World Cup and New Zealand T20 Series:

Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Tilak Verma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dubey, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper).