Suryakumar Yadav had a brilliant start to his T20I captaincy career as India whitewashed Sri Lanka in the three-match T20I series last month. India’s fielding coach R Sridhar provided insights into BCCI’s decision to appoint Suryakumar Yadav as the T20I captain, replacing Rohit Sharma, who retired from the format after lifting the T20 World Cup in June.
The intense race for India’s T20I captaincy came to an end after Suryakumar Yadav was entrusted with the role last month. Under his leadership, India whitewashed Sri Lanka in the three-match T20I series in Pallekele. While the cricket fraternity congratulated the flamboyant batter for his promotion, some were surprised to see Hardik Pandya, who was Rohit’s deputy during the T20 World Cup, not getting the nod.
Suryakumar Yadav’s journey to India’s T20I captainship after triumphant T20I World Cup
After their victorious T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, Team India has gone through a host of changes. One of the big changes was already planned before the final, with Rahul Dravid stepping down from his role. Then the other two big changes took place right after the match-winning moment in Barbados when veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma announced their retirement from T20I cricket. It was a shock for many, but a development which was also expected by most.
With Rohit remaining as captain in ODIs and Tests, there was a question mark over his successor in T20Is, with most fingers pointing towards Hardik Pandya, who had been the vice-captain at the T20 World Cup. But the BCCI decided to go with Suryakumar Yadav instead. It wasn’t anybody’s predicted outcome, but the 33-year-old perfectly checks all the requirements for the captaincy role.
There have been other talking points too, especially as to who will replace Kohli and Rohit as India’s next openers in T20Is. In this case, most would think it will be Shubman Gill and Yashaswi Jaiswal. But there are other openers like Abhishek Sharma and Sai Sudarshan who will be fighting for the role too.
Giving a better insight into how the Indian cricket team is starting their new chapter, former India fielding coach and also an ex-player, R Sridhar spoke to Hindustan Times in an exclusive interaction, and gave his perspective on the key talking points.
R Sridhar explanation on Suryakumar Yadav becoming India’s T20I captain
BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar said that workload management was one of the most important factors behind Suryakumar Yadav’s appointment ahead of Hardik, whose struggles with injuries are well-documented. Now, Sridhar has spoken along the same lines, mentioning that Suryakumar Yadav’s availability not being a concern made him the safer option.
Former Indian fielding coach R Sridhar has opened up on BCCI’s decision to appoint Suryakumar Yadav as the new T20I captain and not Hardik Pandya. Hardik was India’s vice-captain in their T20 World Cup campaign and also played a crucial role in their triumph.
Here’s what R Sridhar had to say about Suryakumar Yadav to Hindustan Times:
“The very fact that Surya is someone who will be on the park for every match India is playing and not being bothered about workload monitoring is something which has tilted the scales in his favour, in terms of captaincy.
“Some of the matches he has captained India, when Rohit and Hardik were not available, has given confidence to the BCCI that he can do an excellent job.”
R Sridhar also highlighted Suryakumar Yadav’s spell as vice-captain with the Kolkata Knight Riders. He had also captained a handful of games for the Mumbai Indians during the IPL 2023 season. Agarkar had spoken about feedback from the dressing room as another factor behind the Mumbai batter’s appointment.
R Sridhar expressed his views on Hardik Pandya
R Sridhar also opened up on Hardik Pandya’s contributions to the Men in Blue’s victorious T20 World Cup campaign. The all-rounder scored 144 runs at a strike rate of more than 150 and also picked up 11 wickets.
On this, Sridhar said:
“I am sure Hardik will come back. He has just won you a World Cup, bowling that two crucial overs between 16 and 20. The last over obviously was fabulous from an Indian perspective. If he has got niggles, he will come back like how he has before.”
R Sridhar spoke about how rare an asset Hardik Pandya is in Indian cricket. He added that looking after the all-rounder was the way to go ahead especially with ICC tournaments like the Champions Trophy 2025 lined up.