Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma in favor of Suryakumar Yadav as new T20I captain: Reports
With Rohit Sharma having retired from T20Is following India's win in the 2024 T20 World Cup, senior batter Suryakumar Yadav and all-rounder Hardik Pandya have emerged as the fron runners to take over as new T20I captain. While Pandya was Rohit's deputy in the ICC event, in an interesting twist, reports are emerging that Rohit and coach Gautam Gambhir are in favor of Suryakumar as T20I captain.
India are set to tour Sri Lanka for a white-ball series featuring three ODIs and three T20Is from July 27 to August 7. The selection meeting for the same was supposed to be held on Wednesday, July 17. However, it was postponed, apparently due to the debate over the T20I captaincy issue.
According to The Times of India, while Pandya was the vice-captain in the T20 World Cup, both Rohit and new coach Gambhir prefer Suryakumar as the new captain in the T20I format ahead of the all-rounder.
The report quoted multiple sources of saying that Pandya's poor fitness track record could go against him when the Indian think tank pick the new T20I leader.
As per some media reports, Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar have communicated the decision about Suryakumar being the preferred candidate to take over as T20I captain to Pandya.
Some reports also claim that Suryakumar is set to be India's full-time T20I captain till the next World Cup in the format - 2026.
Comparing Pandya and Suryakumar's T20I records
Pandya (30) has featured in 100 T20Is, scoring 1492 runs at an average of 26.64 and a strike rate of 140.88, with four half-centuries. With his medium-pace, he has claimed 84 wickets at an average of 25.48 and a strike rate of 18.8, with three four-fers.
Shifting focus to Suryakumar, the 33-year-old has played 68 T20I matches and hammered 2340 runs at an excellent strike rate of 167.74, with four hundreds and 19 fifties. He's also a very good fielder and took a sensational catch in the last over of the 2024 T20 World Cup final against South Africa.
If we look at the captaincy experience of the two star players, Pandya has led India in 16 T20Is, where the Men in Blue have won 10.
As for Suryakumar, he has led Team India in seven T20I matches, winning five and losing two. He captained India during the T20I series in South Africa and scored a brilliant 100 off 56 in the third match in Johannesburg.