Mumbai. The T20 and ODI series between India and Sri Lanka starting later this month will start a new chapter in Indian cricket. Under the guidance of new head coach Gautam Gambhir, the team will embark on a mission to achieve more achievements.
However, there have been several major changes to India's T20 squad for this series. After the T20 World Cup 2024 win and Rohit Sharma's retirement from the format, it was believed that designated vice-captain Hardik Pandya would be promoted as captain. However, that did not happen.
The selectors took a shocking decision and made Surya the captain. Now there is a lot of discussion about why Hardik was not made the captain. A big revelation has been made in a media report regarding this.
The report claims that the players' feeling of discomfort with Hardik helped make Suryakumar the captain. Hardik has not even been made the vice-captain. Shubman Gill will be the vice-captain in both the ODI and T20 series.
Suryakumar succeeded in winning the trust of the players
It was believed that Pandya's fitness could largely be the reason behind his removal from captaincy. However, now a report in The Indian Express claims that the vote went in Suryakumar's favour due to the confidence of the players. The report claims that the 'feedback' that the BCCI received is that the players trusted Yadav more than Pandya and were comfortable playing under him.
The report claimed that the selection meeting, which went on for several hours over two days, was unlike any other meeting as there were heated debates and differences of opinion. Calls were made to players who were part of the selectors' long-term plans.
The selectors liked this quality of Suryakumar
The report further claims that Suryakumar's man management skills impressed the BCCI selectors. When Ishan Kishan was about to leave the Indian team midway through the South Africa tour last year, Suryakumar is said to have tried to convince him to stay back.
It is said that he has talked to fringe players to take advantage of the opportunities. Another school of thought is that Suryakumar's style of talking is like Rohit's and players are comfortable talking to him. This is also being cited as the reason behind giving him preference over Hardik.
The report also stated that Hardik, the vice-captain of the T20 World Cup-winning team that bowled the historic last over in the final against South Africa, was informed by Agarkar and Gambhir about their decision on Tuesday.
Hardik has been injured a lot in the last two years
Hardik was also the vice-captain in the 50-over World Cup last year before his injury. However, now Shubman Gill has been appointed vice-captain in both formats making it clear that the selection committee and Gambhir want to think beyond Hardik as a leadership option. Hardik's frequent injuries also went against him. He has played 46 out of a total of 79 T20 Internationals for India since January 1, 2022.
At the same time, Suryakumar did not play only a few matches during this period. That too because he had undergone sports hernia surgery. Surya captained the T20 series in November last year and helped India beat Australia 4-1 and then played a 1-1 draw in South Africa.
