"Gambhir has gone for Suryakumar Yadav as almost like a bridge or a temporary captain for a year or two" - Scott Styris 

Former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris feels Team India's decision to make Suryakumar Yadav their T20I captain stems from head coach Gautam Gambhir not identifying with a natural leader in the squad. Following the retirement of skipper Rohit Sharma after his leading India to 2024 T20 World Cup glory, the management handed over the reins to Surya and Shubman Gill as his deputy for the shortest format.

Surya led India in T20Is late last year against Australia at home and away against South Africa, winning five out of seven outings.

In an interview with India Today, Styris said:

"It's more the long term picture. What it says to me, with Hardik Pandya not being captain, all the senior players retiring. Maybe Gautham Gambhir just doesn't see a natural leader at the moment, which is why he has gone for for Suryakumar Yadav as almost like a bridge or a temporary captain for a year or two. And then maybe Gill steps in that role in a couple of years time."

He added:

"I think he's a short-term option. I don't think Gambhir has a natural captain amongst the players that he has right now. So, he's buying himself time as to who will be the next long-term captain."

Suryakumar Yadav's T20I captaincy stint will begin when India take on Sri Lanka in the first of three T20I games at Pallekele on July 27.

"Someone like Gill I think could do the job for 10 years for India, but he's not quite ready right now" - Scott Styris

Gill recently led India in the Zimbabwe T20Is [Credit: Getty]

In the aforementioned interview, Scott Styris also praised India's decision to make Shubman Gill the T20I and ODI vice-captain with a futuristic leadership role in mind.

The 24-year-old recently led India's second-string side to a 4-1 T20I series win in Zimbabwe. Gill also captained the Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2024 but the side finished eighth in the 10-team race.

"You know, someone like Gill I think could do the job for 10 years for India, but he's not quite ready right now, so I think it was a really smart decision to bring in someone with a bit more experience. Someone like Suryakumar make him captain. If he does a decent enough job, then he might be the captain at the next T20 World Cup. And then after that, you can look at Gill or any of the other potential options around. But yeah, I think it's a really clever decision," said Styris.

He concluded:

"Shubman Gill has a lot of growth yet to do in his own game. We've seen some really high quality performances for India, but it's now about consistency across those three formats. So it's almost like letting him learn how to be a captain. We've got an eye on you in the future, but at the moment we still just want you to concentrate on your cricket."

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma will continue as Indian captain in ODIs and Tests. Following the three T20Is, India will also play as many ODIs in the Sri Lankan tour before returning home for the Bangladesh Tests.

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