Suryakumar Yadav To Lead India for T20I Series Against Sri Lanka

A major change in the captaincy for Men in Blue. Suryakumar Yadav to lead the Indian Cricket Team in the T20I Series against Sri Lanka.

After the captain trio, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja decided to retire from the T20I cricket, the newly appointed Indian Head Coach, Gautam Gambhir decided to appoint Suryakumar Yadav.

SKY will be leading the Men in Blue for the upcoming T20I Series against Sri Lanka in the India Tour of Sri Lanka. The decision came into the spotlight as Hardik Pandya was not chosen for the captaincy, despite having experience in the format.

Why is Hardik Pandya Not Chosen?

Hardik Pandya was Vice-Captain for the Indian Cricket Team in the ICC Men’s T20I World Cup 2024. The stakes were higher for Hardik and his fitness concerns, but the officials are not agreeing to this reason. Hardik has also led Gujrat Titans and Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, but the authorities are likely to choose him as the captain of the Indian team.

Also, Hardik Pandya suffered from an ankle injury during the ODI World Cup and was out of play before the IPL 2024.

Head Coach and Chief Selector, Ajit Agarkar has already been in talks with Hardik regarding this decision. Here is what a senior BCCI official said-

“Hardik Pandya was India’s T2O vice-captain under Rohit Sharma. He is completely fit and available for the three-match T20I series and was supposed to lead the side but there is a very strong feeling that SKY would be the potential leader not only for the Sri Lanka series but till the 2026 World Cup,”

“Hardik’s break from ODIs is for very personal reasons. He doesn’t have any fitness issue as is being suggested in the media,”

Suryakumar’s Captaincy Experience

Suryakumar has previously captained Mumbai at the domestic level. More recently, he guided India to a 4-1 series victory over Australia in the T20I series last November, followed by a 1-1 series tie in South Africa.

Suryakumar is also one of the first names in a first-choice India XI for the format.

Gautam Gambhir’s First Assignment

After recently being appointed as the Head Coach, replaced by Rahul Dravid, Gautam Gambhir will be expected to take the Indian team to the highest calibre. Gautam Gambhir has done a great job with Kolkata Knight Riders as the Coach.

Since he is the Head Coach and Mentor for the Indian Cricket Team now, the India Tour of Sri Lanka will be his first assignment. More than the assignment, it is going to be an establishing move for Men in Blue to prepare for the next T20I World Cup 2026, hosted by India.

India will travel to Sri Lanka for the India Tour of Sri Lanka with a three-match T20I series. Let’s see if Gautam Gambhir’s first move and first assignment will be able to leave a mark, or if it turns out to be a fruitless effort.

Also Read - Gautam Gambhir’s Tribute to Kolkata Knight Riders