The Indian cricket team is scheduled to tour Sri Lanka for a series of 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs. The series will begin on the 27th. Subsequently, the Indian team for this series was announced last Thursday night.

According to this, Suryakumar Yadav has been appointed as the captain of the Indian T20 team and Rohit Sharma as the captain of the ODI team. Subman Gill has been appointed as the vice-captain for the T20 and ODI teams. In this, Sanju Samson has been included in the T20 team only. Did not get a place in the squad for the ODI series. Similarly, Abhishek Sharma and Rudharaj Kaiwat were left out of the T20 and ODI squads.

Reigning T20 World Cup champions India, under the leadership of new head coach Gautam Gambhir and new captain Suryakumar Yadav, are set to play in Sri Lanka for a 3-match T20I series. Following the T20 World Cup win, Rohit Sharma, who captained India in all 3 formats, announced his retirement from international T20 competition.

Following him, leading players Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja also announced their retirement from T20 Internationals. All three are in their mid to late 30s.

The axing of T20 World Cup-winning vice-captain Hardik Pandya and one-time India captain KL Rahul added intrigue to the selection process. Pandya has been included in the T20 squad and Rahul has been included in the ODIs. But they are not in the captaincy.

The selection meeting that changed the Indian dressing room hierarchy lasted several hours over two days. Those in the know say disagreements, negotiations and heated debates ensued. During these meetings, calls were made to many players and long-term plans were shared with them. It is unimaginable that this is another selection meeting for a bilateral series. Suriya ahead of Hardik and Gill ahead of Rahul are seen as significant decisions for the future of Indian cricket.

With many expecting Hardik Pandya to lead India's T20 team after the 2022 World Cup in Australia, the decision to hand over the captaincy to Suriya comes as a surprise. And was expected to do so for the 2024 T20 World Cup until he suffered an ankle injury during the 50-over World Cup in October 2023. Hardik Pandya returned in March to lead the Mumbai Indians in the IPL. But by then the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee had picked Rohit by another ICC. Decided to retain the competition. Hardik Pandya was part of the winning team and made key contributions both with bat and ball.

According to people in the know, Hardik Pandya's poor fitness record has been a major concern of the selection committee. And they felt that Suriya was the best choice even though she was 33 years old. Initial discussions about this took place when the Indian team was in the West Indies. And when Gambhir took over as head coach, he is said to have had the same idea.

Hardik Pandya had earlier informed the selectors that he will not participate in the three-match ODI series in Sri Lanka due to personal reasons. This created more doubt in their minds. Feedback received by the board suggests that the players trusted Suriya more than him and felt comfortable working under him.

Serious discussion

However, it was unfair to him not to name the current vice-captain of the T20 team as the new captain. He was very reliable especially during the World Cup. Some said it was Rohit's decision to keep him as vice-captain even though the selection committee was not too keen. While Hardik Pandya, the BCCI and the selection committee agreed that Pandya was an important member of the Indian team, a committee member opined that they did not see him as captain.

The argument was made that the selection committee under the new boss has not had the opportunity to prepare the team for the next two years and now is the right time to map out the next T20I cycle.

Suriya's managerial prowess came to the fore when he led India in the T20 series in South Africa. He was more impressed with how he handled the players. When Ishaan Kishan decided to go home midway through the series, Suriya tried to convince him to back out of that decision, which caught the attention of key members of the team. He spoke clearly to the young players and told them to be mentally prepared to take advantage of opportunities when they arise.

Suriya's communication style is similar to Rohit's and teammates are willing to interact with him. He has impressed the selectors with how he has conducted himself in the last one year. And they now see him as a viable captaincy option in the T20 format even though he is in his mid-thirties.

However, Suriya was not included in the ODI squad. The BCCI press release did not mention any reason for this. A right-handed batsman, he played in the ODI World Cup team last year. It is noteworthy that India lost the final in this series.

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