The Indian cricket board’s choice of Suryakumar Yadav as T20 captain over Hardik Pandya has been attributed to him having the backing of players, according to a report on Friday.
Suryakumar, 33, was named Rohit Sharma’s successor in the T20 format as selectors late Thursday announced the squads for India’s white-ball tour of Sri Lanka starting July 27. Suryakumar will lead a 15-member squad in three T20 matches in Pallekele, but has not been selected to play the following three ODI matches.
Rohit, who along with Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja quit T20 internationals after India’s World Cup triumph last month, will continue to lead the ODI team, which will face Sri Lanka on August 2, 4, and 7 at Colombo’s R. Premadasa Stadium. The 30-year-old Pandya, who was Rohit’s deputy during the T20 showpiece, lost out in the captaincy race to a player who made his debut five years later than the star all-rounder.
A report in the Indian Express newspaper said, “feedback received by the board was that players trusted Surya more than Pandya and were more comfortable working under him”.
Pandya’s frequent injury breakdowns, including an ankle injury during the ODI World Cup last year at home, also went against him. According to reports, new coach Gautam Gambhir did not want a captain with injury concerns and was impressed with Suryakumar’s game awareness.
‘Circle of captaincy’
Suryakumar, a T20 regular who redefined batting in the format, made a late debut for India at the age of 30 but soon became the team’s go-to batter in the middle order. His audacious strokeplay, including a lap shot behind the stumps, makes him a bowler’s nightmare, considered a “360 degree” player for hits all around the ground.
Most recently, Suryakumar took a stunning catch at the boundary in a tense last over from Pandya to help India clinch a thrilling victory in the World Cup final over South Africa in Barbados.
Suryakumar, who previously captained Mumbai in domestic cricket, last year led India to a 4-1 T20 series win over Australia and followed it up with a 1-1 result in South Africa. Pandya had a good World Cup with bat and ball, but the ride has been rough for the Indian star, who replaced Rohit as IPL captain at Mumbai Indians.
He was booed across venues by fans of Rohit, and Mumbai ended bottom of the 10-team table in the T20 tournament. Pandya has also struggled on the personal front, and on Thursday announced his separation from his wife and Serbian model Natasa Stankovic. They will co-parent a son from their four-year marriage.
“So in test matches & ODIs, Hardik Pandya will play under Rohit Sharma. In T20s, Hardik Pandya will play under Suryakumar Yadav. In IPL, Rohit Sharma & Suryakumar Yadav will play under Hardik Pandya. Circle of captaincy,” Indian author Ramesh Srivats, wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
