After India’s T20 World Cup 2024 triumph last month, Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from international cricket’s shortest format. So, the question now arises – who will lead India in T20Is going forward.
Young batter Shubman Gill led India’s second-string team during the recently concluded T20I tour of Zimbabwe, which the visitors won 4-1 despite losing the first match.
The Men in Blue will travel to Sri Lanka for a white-ball series with a full-strength squad later this month. It will be interesting to see the captain of India’s T20I side on the tour, which will also mark the start of Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as head coach.
According to a report published in The Indian Express, Hardik Pandya could have been an obvious choice for the leadership role but the all-rounder’s suspect fitness record has thrown up the name of Suryakumar Yadav.
Notably, Surya successfully led the national T20 team on the tour of South Africa last December when Hardik was recovering from an ankle injury and Rohit was rested.
“It is a delicate matter. There is an argument on both sides of the debate and thus everyone is not on the same page. Hardik’s fitness is an issue but he played a big role in breaking India’s ICC jinx. As for Suryakumar, we have received feedback from the team that his captaincy style was well received by the dressing room,” a BCCI source said, as quoted by The Indian Express.
The decision makers within the board also that felt Hardik could be handed the captaincy as he was the designated vice-captain of the Indian team during the T20 World Cup.
Meanwhile, the report further claimed that Hardik Pandya has informed the BCCI about his unavailability for the ODI series against Sri Lanka due to personal reasons.
The Indian team will play three T20Is and ODIs each on the tour of Sri Lanka from July 27 to August 7.
As per the report, Gambhir has urged the senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah to feature in the ODI series as the Indian team will be getting one more extended break thereafter.
The senior players reportedly haven’t responded yet, with Rohit and Kohli taking a break and traveling abroad with their families.
(With The Indian Express Inputs)
