Prachi Mishra, Pune
Suryakumar Yadav, has been named as the captain of Indian Men’s T20 Internationals Team on July 18 along with the announcement of the Indian squad for the forthcoming Ind vs Sri Lanka series. BCCI’s decision came after Gautam Gambhir was assigned the post of Head Coach of the national team after Rahul Dravid’s tenure came to an end. The decision of appointing Suryakumar Yadav as the successor of Rohit Sharma in the T20I format has become a topic of discussion in the cricket circle as well as among cricket fans on social media.
The last T20Is India played was the World Cup final held on 29th June. Hardik Pandya was the Vice Captain of the team back then under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. Therefore, it was assumed by many that his chances of becoming the captain are probably more. But, what came as a shocker for many of Hardik fans was the BCCI’s decision to promote Suryakumar Yadav as the captain and Shubhman Gill as the Vice Captain in T20Is.
Moreover, Surya who would be leading on the T20I front is not a part of the ODI Team. This explains the management’s decision along with their thinking and planning that went behind it. They want a young side for the T20Is and every player and position have been well thought keeping in mind the longer scheme of things. Surya’s exclusion from the ODIs is a testament to the fact that it’s his performance and the natural leadership qualities that has earned him the title of the captain and not any favor from the head coach.
The BCCI Officials cleared their stance on this matter stating that the decision was taken keeping in mind Hardik’s inconsistency in the past due to injuries and also due to the feedback that was taken from Indian Team players itself. The players hinted that they felt more comfortable and secure under SKY’s captaincy as compared to Hardik’s. This situation might have arisen also because of what happened during Hardik Pandya’s stint as captain of Mumbai Indians during IPL. Surya took to his Instagram to thank all his fans for all the love and support he got in the past few days. All eyes are now on his performance as the captain when India takes on Sri Lanka on July 29 for the T20Is.