Gautam Gambhir (left) and Suryakumar Yadav.© X/@ImTanujSingh
It came as a surprise for everybody when the Board of Control for Cricket in India named Suryakumar Yadav as the captain for Sri Lanka T20Is, preferring the top-order batter over Hardik Pandya. Star all-rounder Hardik was the vice-captain of the T20 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team. He looked all set to take over the captaincy role in the format after Rohit Sharma callled time on his T20I career, but the management went ahead with Surya instead. BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained that Hardik's consistent injuries, his workload management were the reasons that pushed the board to look beyond him for the captaincy role.
Agarkar added that Suryakumar's captaincy abilities and the feedback from players also played a big role in him being appointed the skipper in T20Is.
Amidst a lot of other rumours surrounding the new T20I captain's appointment, former India cricketer Pragyan Ojha has pointed out an old Kolkata Knight Riders connection between Suryakumar and newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir.
"I am quite sure that the selectors would have thought about it, but if you see, the T20 World Cup is in 2026. So with that they wanted someone maturity and experience. So who better than Suryakumar Yadav? Had it been Hardik - because that is what we were expecting since he was the vice-captain in the World Cup - there were few challenges that he too had to face as far as the fitness is concerned. So looking at all the dynamics, I feel Surya is a great choice," Ojha told OneIndia.
"He is a street-smart guy. He has a great camaraderie with Gautam Gambhir. They have played together, and if you remember, when Gauti bhai was leading KKR, Surya was the vice-captain. So that understanding and that trust level is always there. Hardik, they thought that maybe fitness can trouble him. So, the next best person was Suryakumar Yadav," he added.