'His Rapport With Other Players': Ex-India Coach Gives Reason Behind Suryakumar Yadav Captaincy Choice

07.08.2024 - 07:28 sports.ndtv.com

Former Team India fielding coach R Sridhar has stated that Suryakumar Yadav checks several boxes and, therefore, was made captain in the T20I format.

Following the retirement of Rohit Sharma from T20Is after the T20 World Cup 2024 win, many expected Hardik Pandya - who was vice-captain at the tournament - to inherit captaincy.

However, new head coach Gautam Gambhir chose Suryakumar Yadav as the captain of the side in the shortest format. Sridhar suggested that Suryakumar's bond with players in the dressing room has been a big plus in helping him win captaincy. "He is someone who has exhibited leadership qualities throughout his tenure of being with the Indian team.

That's held him in good stead, again falling back to his rapport with the other players, how they look up to him," said Sridhar, speaking to Hindustan Times.

cricket India Cricket Team Mumbai Indians Rohit Sharma Hardik Pandya Team India Gautam Gambhir Suryakumar Yadav India

Ravichandran Ashwin is gearing up for a big 10-Test season and the Bangladesh series next month will be his first under new head coach Gautam Gambhir, someone with whom he has also played a lot. Ashwin also admires him as one of the "heroes" of Indian cricket. "Gautam is someone I still share a very, very good relationship with. Because of the fact that he is a very straightforward and an honest guy. I think Gautam is also one of those guys that we should always be backing. He's a hero of Indian cricket," he said of the new coach, who took charge in the recent tour of Sri Lanka.

More Bowling Experiments In Gautam Gambhir Era? India Coach Drops Massive Hint

Bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule indicated that India will continue to give bowling opportunities to their top-order batters as it can work as a “surprise element” to the opposition. Shubman Gill was given a chance to roll his arm against Sri Lanka in the first ODI, which ended in a tie here on Friday, and Bahutule said it will be the way forward even though the opener gave away 14 runs in his lone over. “I think our batters are good bowlers as well, to be honest. You know their primary skill is batting, so at times, they don't focus much on their bowling. But they have the skills,” said Bahutule in the post-match press meet.

Watch: Suryakumar Yadav's Blunder Nearly Cost India 3rd T20I vs Sri Lanka

A blunder from India's T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav nearly cost the team the third match against Sri Lanka on Tuesday. It was the third and final T20I of the series. Sri Lanka were chasing 138 runs but their poor performance in batting towards the end saw India making a remarkable comeback in Pallekele. The hosts needed 5 runs off the final two balls to win the game. This is when Chamindu Wickramasinghe slammed Suryakumar's fuller delivery to long-off and tried to steal a couple.

Watch: Suryakumar Yadav's Blunder Nearly Cost India 3rd T20I vs Sri Lanka

"Rohit Ka Chela...": Ex-India Star's Explosive Remark On 'Great Leader' Suryakumar Yadav

India completed a 3-0 clean-sweep in the T20I series against Sri Lanka with a thrilling super over victory in their final match on Tuesday. Sri Lanka looked comfortably placed in the run chase but Suryakumar's stunning decision to use Rinku Singh as a bowler in the 19th over and himself bowling the final over of the match provided to be a brilliant one. From 110/1, Sri Lanka lost wickets in a heap as they could only manage to score 137/8 in 20 overs. In the super over, the hosts were once again outplayed as India marched on to a huge win. Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif was impressed by Suryakumar's captaincy and he took to social media to pay him a massive compliment on his bowling changes.

Hardik Pandya Says This On Suryakumar Yadav's Captaincy As Gautam Gambhir Gives Epic Speech. Watch

Newly appointed India head coach, Gautam Gambhir began his career in the new role with a 3-0 T20I series triumph against Sri Lanka. Skipper Suryakumar Yadav's captaincy received its due credit in the post-series dressing room speech given by head coach Gambhir while all-rounder Hardik Pandya also had some special words for his Mumbai Indians teammate. The comments from Gambhir and Hardik were shared by the BCCI in a video published on social media.