India's flamboyant batter Suryakumar Yadav was finally rewarded for his batting wizardry that he has been displaying for quite a while now. On Tuesday (December 27), Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced Team India's squad for the upcoming home series against Sri Lanka and appointed Suryakumar as vice captain for the three-match T20Is which is set to start from January 3.
With the regular skipper Rohit Sharma rested to recover from the thumb injury that he sustained in the Bangladesh ODI series, Hardik Pandya will be leading the India side in the T20Is with Suryakumar alongside as his deputy.
Suryakumar is currently playing for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy 2022-2023. After the close of of Day 2 against Saurashtra, the 32-year-old explosive batter expressed his euphoria on being given appointed India's vice-captain for the first time. He also revealed how he got to know about the news from his father, who also gave him a special ‘seven-word advice’ on being given the onus to spearhead Team India being Hardik's deputy.
Suryakumar Yadav is currently plying his trade for Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. After Day 2' splay against Saurashtra, the right hander spoke to a few reporters to give his first reaction on him being selected as the vice-captain for the very first time. He revealed that it was his father who informed him of the news.
"I wasn't expecting it. Given my form in past one year, I can say that I have been rewarded. I feels nice and looking forwarded to it. I only came to know when I saw the list. Papa forwarded me the list because he is active on social media to see what's going on. He forwarded it to me directly. Then we talked," Suryakumar said.
Suryakumar Yadav also mentioned a beautiful seven-word message he received from his father along with the news. "Not to take any pressure, enjoy your batting," he further said.
Suryakumar, who is popularly known as ‘Mr 360 degree’ had an exceptional outing with the bat in 2022. He amassed 1164 runs in T20Is which also made him the first Indian batter and second overall to go past 1000 run mark in a calendar year in the shortest format of the game.
India's T20I squad for Sri Lanka series: Hardik Pandya (Captain), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (vice captain), Deepak Hooda, Rahul Tripathi, Sanju Samson, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Umran Malik, Shivam Mavi, Mukesh Kumar.
India's ODI squad for Sri Lanka: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (VC), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh.
India vs Sri Lanka series full schedule
Tuesday, January 3: 1st T20 match- At Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, at 7:00 PM IST
Thursday, January 5: 2nd T20 match-At Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune, at 7:00 PM IST
Saturday, January 7: 3rd T20 match-At Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot, at 7:00 PM IST
Tuesday, January 10: 1st ODI- At Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati, at 2:00 PM IST
Thursday, January 12: 2nd ODI- At Eden Gardens, Kolkata, at 2:00 PM IST
Sunday, January 15: 3rd ODI- At Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram, at 2:00 PM IST
