The discussions over who will become the next Indian cricket team T20I captain have intensified, with Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav emerging as the two major contenders. Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the format following India’s T20 World Cup 2024 triumph has left the captaincy position open. While Hardik, as vice-captain, was initially the favorite to succeed Rohit, Suryakumar has recently emerged as a strong contender due to concerns about Hardik’s injury record.
Media reports suggest that Suryakumar Yadav, popularly known as SKY, is likely to be named captain for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka. The squad announcement is expected on Thursday. Head coach Gautam Gambhir, during an informal call with BCCI officials and the selection committee, expressed a preference for a captain whose injury and workload management would not pose future problems. Although Gambhir did not explicitly endorse Suryakumar, he made it clear that he favored a skipper with a manageable workload.
A BCCI official told Hindustan Times, “Although Gambhir did not directly pitch for Surya in the call, he made it amply clear that he would want to work with a captain whose workload does not become a stumbling block. Agarkar was clear with his views.”
Meanwhile, in the ICC T20I batting rankings issued on Wednesday, Suryakumar Yadav remains the highest-placed Indian at the second spot, while young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal occupies the sixth position. Ruturaj Gaikwad has dropped to eighth place. Jaiswal’s impressive performance in India’s recent 4-1 series triumph over Zimbabwe, where he scored 141 runs, helped him rise four places, trailing only behind the No.1 ranked batter Travis Head of Australia and Suryakumar. Shubman Gill, who led India against Zimbabwe and was the leading run-scorer with 170 runs from five innings, moved up 36 places to 37th.
No Indian bowler features in the top 10 of the T20I bowlers’ rankings, with Axar Patel dropping four places to the 13th spot after being rested for the Zimbabwe series.
