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Former India's star batter Gautam Gambhir has his doubts on Suryakumar Yadav's newly entrusted deputy role for the Men in Blue's T20I series against Sri Lanka. While Hardik Pandya will be leading the Indian pack in the three-match T20I series against the Island Nation, Suryakumar will assist him being the vice-captain of the side.
After taking the T20I cricket by storm in 2022, Suryakumar was elevated to India's vice-captain for the T20I series against Dasun Shanaka's men which will kick off on Tuesday (January 3), but Gambhir has cautioned against being too excited about Suryakumar's promotion as it won't last long when regular skipper Rohit Sharma will walk back in to the fold after recovering from his thumb injury, which might change the dynamics of the leadership roles in the side.
"I don't think we need to look into it that much because we have to wait and watch once Rohit comes into the T20 squad whether they are going to still continue with Hardik as the captain and Surya as the vice-captain. We will have to wait and watch because how many options did you have with this young squad? " Gambhir told ESPNCricinfo.
However, going by the flamboyant Suryakumar's portfolio which speaks volume of his dominance, he is the ideal candidate for the vice-captaincy role.
He has belted 1164 runs in T20Is and sitting right at the pinnacle of T20I batting ranking. The 32-year-old has won many matches for India riding on some blistering knocks.
Meanwhile, Gambhir also thinks it won't be a bad choice to continue Surya as India's vice-captain even if Rohit returns to the fold.
"Now he has been trusted with leadership and being the vice-captain of the country is always a great honour. So I am sure he is going to do a good job. Even if Rohit Sharma comes in and the selectors feel that Hardik is the right guy and Surya is the vice-captain, you can't keep chopping and changing. If this is your leadership core, so be it," Gambhir further added.
India's squad for Sri Lanka T20Is: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi and Mukesh Kumar.
India's squad for Sri Lanka ODIs: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh.
The schedule
Date Match Details Venue Time (IST)
January 3 India vs Sri Lanka, 1st T20I Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai 7:00 PM
January 5 India vs Sri Lanka, 2nd T20I Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune 7:00 PM
January 7 India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd T20I Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot 7:00 PM
January 10 India vs Sri Lanka, 1st ODI Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati 1:30 PM
January 12 India vs Sri Lanka, 2nd ODI Eden Gardens, Kolkata 1:30 PM
January 15 India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd ODI Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram 1:30 PM
