The upcoming T20I and ODI series between India and Sri Lanka, starting later this month, marks a fresh start for Indian cricket. With Gautam Gambhir as the new head coach, the team aims to achieve more success. The selected teams show some intriguing changes, with the most notable being the T20I captaincy. Following Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the format after winning the T20 World Cup 2024, it was expected that vice-captain Hardik Pandya would take over as captain.

However, Suryakumar has been appointed as the captain, and Pandya is not even the vice-captain. Although Pandya’s fitness concerns are widely seen as the reason for him not getting the captaincy, a report in the Indian Express suggests that players’ trust in Yadav led to this decision.

The report stated that the feedback the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) got showed that the players felt more trust in Yadav than in Pandya and were happier to work under him. The report said that the selection meeting, which lasted many hours over two days, was very different from usual meetings because there were strong arguments and disagreements. During the meeting, calls were made to players to explain the management’s long-term plans.

The report also said that Yadav’s skills in managing people impressed the BCCI selectors. It is mentioned that when Ishan Kishan was thinking about leaving the Indian team during the South Africa tour last year, Yadav tried to persuade him to stay.

It is also reported that Yadav spoke to less experienced players, encouraging them to make the best of their chances. Some people think that Yadav’s way of communicating is similar to Rohit’s, and the players feel comfortable talking with him.

Another reason Yadav was chosen as captain instead of Pandya is explained below.

Pandya, who was the vice-captain when India won the T20 World Cup and bowled the final over in the championship game against South Africa, was informed about this decision on Tuesday by Agarkar and Gambhir.

Pandya had also been the vice-captain in the 50-over World Cup the previous year but got injured. Now, with Shubman Gill being named as the deputy in both T20 and 50-over formats, it shows that the selection committee and Gambhir want to consider other leadership options besides Pandya.

Pandya’s frequent injuries were a disadvantage. He played in only 46 out of 79 T20 international games since January 2022. During this time, Suryakumar played most games, missing only a few due to a sports hernia surgery.

Pandya led India to victory in a T20I series against Australia last November, winning 4-1, and then achieved a 1-1 draw in South Africa.