The wait is over! The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has finally settled the dust on the T20I captaincy conundrum. After much speculation, Suryakumar Yadav has been officially named as the leader for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka, starting from July 27.
Pandya to play under Suryakumar’s captaincy!
This comes as a bit of a surprise considering the earlier reports suggesting Suryakumar might be a stop-gap captain, with Hardik Pandya being the long-term choice. Interestingly, Hardik is indeed part of the T20I squad for Sri Lanka, but in a surprising twist, he’s neither the captain nor the vice-captain. That honor goes to the young batting prodigy, Shubman Gill.
Hardik’s exclusion from the leadership roles is intriguing. Is his injury history a concern, or is there something else at play (Gautam Gambhir)? The lack of a clear vice-captaincy hierarchy adds another layer of mystery as BCCI has appointed Shubman Gill as the deputy across both the formats. Gambhir eyes a future captain in Gill for sure!
One thing’s for sure, this move by the BCCI has injected some excitement into the Sri Lanka series. With a new captain at the helm and a young prodigy as his deputy, Indian cricket fans will be eager to see how this new-look team performs. Will Suryakumar prove his captaincy mettle? Will Hardik bounce back and reclaim a leadership role? Only time will tell, but one thing’s for sure, Indian cricket is in for an interesting ride.
Team India squads vs Sri Lanka
T20I: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj.
ODI: Rohit Sharma (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.