Suryakumar was handed India’s T20I captainc after Rohit Sharma's retirement from the shortest format.
On the eve of the opening match, India’s T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav addressed a press conference, where he was left stumped by a question regarding not having the experience of leading an IPL team.
However, Suryakumar was in a cheerful mood and he countered the question in a witty manner. He responded by saying that he used to share his inputs when needed while playing under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy at Mumbai Indians.
“Aapne googly daal diya aapne (laughs) (You put me in a spot with a wrong ‘un). Really enjoying this new role (as India captain). When I was playing under Rohit bhai’s captaincy in MI, I used to give my input on whatever I felt at that time,” Suryakumar told reporters.
“For India also feeling good. I captained against Sri Lanka previously against Australia and South Africa. I have learnt from other captains on how to take the team forward,” he added.
After Rohit Sharma retired from the shortest format post the T20 World Cup 2024 triumph in June, Suryakumar Yadav was handed India’s T20I captaincy.
In his first assignment as full-time T20I skipper, Suryakumar led India to 3-0 series win on the tour of Sri Lanka. He will look to maintain the winning momentum in the three-match series against Bangladesh at home.
As for captaining in the IPL, Surya said: “Aage dekhte hain. Chalte rahta hain. Baaki aapko pata toh chal hee jayega ((Let’s see how it goes. Rest you will know in due course of time).”
Meanwhile, all-rounder Shivam Dube has been ruled out of the home T20I series against Bangladesh. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel has announced Tilak Varma as Dube’s replacement.
India’s updated squad for the T20I series against Bangladesh: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, JItesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav, Tilak Varma