For the upcoming three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, the BCCI selection committee has excluded India’s regular white-ball skipper Rohit Sharma, his predecessor Virat Kohli and opening batter KL Rahul.
While the BCCI hasn’t provided any reason for the troika’s absence, there are reports claiming that the Indian T20I team will undergo a transition from this series.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya has been named the captain of the T20I side with star batter Suryakumar Yadav set to play the role of a deputy.
Ahead of the series, slated to get underway on January 3 in Mumbai, former Sri Lanka skipper Kumar Sangakkara has said that the transition period in an international team is always “difficult to handle” but India have a rich talent pool and a potentially good leader in Hardik to smoothly see through the phase.
“Transition is inevitable. You have to be always ready for it. But you need supporting players to come through the system for it to be effective smoothly,” Sangakkara told PTI during an interaction organised by Star Sports, the official broadcaster of the upcoming Sri Lanka tour of India.
“Every side goes through difficult transitions and we saw that in Australia. Saw that in NZ for a considerable period some time back, even in England. So you have all these sides go through transition and difficulty is a common theme,” he added.
The Sri Lankan batting great feels it is important to give the fresh faces a long rope.
“You have to have trust in players that you select, trusting them for long periods, giving them exposure and grounding they require so that they can settle in international cricket and understand what it is all about.”
“India has a throng of young players coming through so it is just about selecting the best among them and giving them a longer run,” he cited.
Having observed Pandya’s captaincy in the IPL for Gujarat Titans, the Rajasthan Royals mentor opined: “There is no doubt that his leadership is excellent and we all saw that in IPL. Now he has to melt that with on-field captaincy at the national level. He has all qualities to be a leader although you don’t necessarily need to be a captain to be a leader.”
“Now captaincy on the field can be a different thing. To read moments, win moments and strategize, you have to be sharp, and I think Hardik has all ingredients to be a good captain.
“The hardest part is to inspire, talk and manage his players in a group together to play with a vision and the rest will come with experience, captaining in close games,” he added.
As far as the new Indian T20I team is concerned, Sangakkara is looking forward to see the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson.
“I love watching Ruturaj Gaikwad’s batting and he is one player who can bat correctly and yet have an enormous impact in T20 cricket of course Sanju Samson as I want to see Sanju getting a long run in this Indian side.
“Because he is a very special player, so they have got a good mixture of pace, spin and utility players. It will be a tough challenge for Sri Lanka but in T20 they have tools to match them.”
He also believes that the Dasun Shanaka-led Sri Lankan side is a force to reckon with in the shortest format of the game, having won the Asia Cup earlier this year.
“You have skipper Dasun Shanaka, Charith Asalanka, Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis. They have a top order that can allow SL to set big totals.
“A powerhouse middle and late order with skipper Shanaka, Bhanuka Rajapaksa, and Wanindu Hasaranga coming in. SL bat deep and we have the spin combo of Mahesh Theeksana and Hasaranga, topped up by the raw pace of Lahiru Kumara and Dilshan Madhusanka.”
(With PTI inputs)
