Gautam Gambhir is Clear with T20I Captaincy

Hardik Pandya seemed to be the ideal choice for the T20I captaincy after Rohit Sharma retired from the T20I after leading Men in Blue to win the ICC Men’s T20I World Cup after 13 years. Hardik Pandya was the vice-captain in the T20 World Cup 2024 which eventually makes him the ideal choice for the captaincy.

But the head coach, Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar, the chief selector have something else in mind, Suryakumar Yadav is expected to lead India in the T20I format. India’s No.1 T20I batsman, Suryakumar Yadav is leading the preference list for the captaincy.

On Tuesday evening, Gambhir participated in an informal discussion with BCCI executives and the selection committee to discuss the next steps. During that call, Gambhir and Agarkar suggested Surya as an option to succeed Rohit as T20I captain.

Here’s what a Senior BCCI told-

“Although Gambhir did not directly pitch for Surya in the call, he made it amply clear that he would want to work with a captain whose workload does not become a stumbling block. Agarkar was clear with his views,”

Surya and Gambhir go back a long way. Gambhir discovered Surya at KKR and assigned him the finisher's job in a star-studded lineup. Surya's captaincy experience is minimal, having led India in only seven T20Is and never in the IPL. Also, the 360-degree batter will be 35 in a few months. As a result, even if he is appointed captain, there is no guarantee that he will serve for a long time. 

Also Read - Suryakumar Yadav To Lead India for T20I Series Against Sri Lanka