File image of Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav.© AFP
Former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris believes that Suryakumar Yadav is only a temporary captaincy option for India, with Gautam Gambhir ideally hoping to build Shubman Gill as the nation's future long-term captain. Suryakumar Yadav - fondly known as SKY - was appointed India's T20I captain by Gambhir after the retirement of Rohit Sharma from the shortest format. Gill was appointed vice-captain in both the T20Is and ODIs for the Sri Lanka tour, prompting Styris to believe that more long-term plans are in play.
"I think he's a short-term option. I don't think Gambhir has a natural captain amongst the players that he has right now," said Styris, speaking to India Today.
"He's buying himself time as to who will be the next long-term captain," continued Styris.
"You know, someone like Gill I think could do the job for 10 years for India, but he's not quite ready right now, so I think it was a really smart decision to bring in someone with a bit more experience," Styris added.
SKY is 33 years old, while Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma is 37. Therefore, developing a long-term captain for the future appears to be a sensible move by Gambhir.
Gill captained India for the first time during the post-T20 World Cup tour to Zimbabwe, as India won the five-match series 4-1. Earlier in the year, Gill had captained IPL franchise Gujarat Titans to a disappointing 8th-place finish.
Styris mentioned that despite the long term vision, SKY could remain India's T20I captain till the next T20 World Cup in 2026.
"If he (SKY) does a decent enough job, then he might be the captain at the next T20 World Cup. And then after that, you can look at Gill or any of the other potential options around. But yeah, I think it's a really clever decision," said Styris.
India's three-match T20I tour of Sri Lanka gets underway on Saturday, July 27.