Who will be India’s next T20I skipper after Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the shortest format? This question has been discussed by many cricket boffins in the last week. Earlier, Hardik Pandya was expected to take the T20I captaincy baton as he led more in Rohit Sharma’s absence after the conclusion of the 2022 T20 World Cup.
However, it has been reported that Suryakumar Yadav is the front-runner to take up the captaincy role as Pandya has injury woes and workload management issues. A BCCI official has confirmed that while new head coach Gautam Gambhir hasn’t pitched in for Suryakumar Yadav but he wants to work with a captain whose workload doesn’t become a stumbling block.
“Although Gambhir did not directly pitch for Surya in the call, he made it amply clear that he would want to work with a captain whose workload does not become a stumbling block. Agarkar was clear with his views,” a BCCI official told Hindustan Times.
Meanwhile, Suryakumar led India in seven T20Is in 2023 against South Africa and Australia and the team won five games. On the other hand, Hardik Pandya has more captaincy experience than SKY, having led India in three ODIs and 16 T20Is.
Furthermore, Pandya has the experience of leading Gujarat Titans to glory in IPL 2022 and also the tournament’s final in the following season. Pandya led Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024 but could not deliver as a leader as well as a player.
“Injuries are part of sportsmen’s life. And if you are playing all the three formats, you ect injured, you go back and get recovered but you should be playing all the three formats. I am not a big believer to identify people that okay we are going to keep him for Test matches and we are going to keep him and we are going to manage his injury and workload and stuff,” Gambhir said in a video posted by Star Sports.
“Look professional cricketers, you got a very small span. When you are playing for your country you want to play as much as you can. When you are in very good form, go ahead and play all the three formats,” Gambhir explained.
The upcoming Sri Lanka tour will be Gautam Gambhir’s maiden assignment as India’s head coach.
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