India's upcoming three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka will see Suryakumar Yadav take the reins as captain. This comes as a bit of a surprise, as many expected Hardik Pandya to be in line for the leadership role. However, Suryakumar Yadav has experience leading the team. He captained India in a five-match T20I series against Australia right after the ODI World Cup, and under his guidance, India secured a convincing 4-1 series win. This performance, coupled with his current ranking as the number 1 T20 batter in the ICC rankings, seems to have impressed the selectors and new coach Gautam Gambhir, leading to his appointment as captain for the Sri Lanka series.
There are some interesting developments beyond Suryakumar Yadav's captaincy for the Sri Lanka series. This series will also mark the debut of Gautam Gambhir as the Indian cricket team's coach. Gambhir, a legendary batsman himself, will be making his first foray into coaching at the international level.
The series will also see Shubman Gill take on a leadership role. He'll be the vice-captain for both the T20I series under Suryakumar Yadav and the subsequent ODI series under Rohit Sharma. This indicates the team management's faith in Gill's potential as a future leader. Suryakumar Yadav, meanwhile, has revealed his approach to captaincy in a video shared earlier. The 33-year-old emphasizes building strong relationships with his teammates, given the significant amount of time they spend together. He describes his leadership style as "simple," focusing on fostering a positive team environment.
"I'm really enjoying this new role," Suryakumar Yadav had told Star Sports in 2023.
“I get to spend time with all my teammates, we've all played together either in franchise cricket or domestic cricket, so it's not difficult to understand their strengths and weaknesses. Also, we spend so much time off the field, therefore our on-field rapport is also very good”.
“Keeping things simple is important for me, I'm a process-oriented person and I like to keep things simple. My advice to everyone is to keep things simple and not to try to be another version of yourself,” he had further stated.
WATCH THE VIDEO HERE
India's ODI squad for the Sri Lanka series:
Rohit Sharma (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana
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