Scott Styris Calls SKY A temporary Captain: Former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris believes that Suryakumar Yadav is only temporarily the T20I captain for India, and head coach Gautam Gambhir will name a new captain as soon as he finds a replacement.
Rohit Sharma, who won the 2024 T20 World Cup as the Indian captain, retired from the format after the cup win in the West Indies about a month ago. Not only that, but senior players Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja retired from the format too.
With several senior players having stepped away from the team, most people assumed that vice-captain Hardik Pandya would be promoted to the captain role. But that did not happen.
Gautam Gambhir, who won the IPL as the mentor of the Kolkata Knight Riders earlier this year, was named the new head coach of the Indian National Cricket Team. About two weeks ago, he announced that it would be Suryakumar Yadav who would be the captain of the T20I team. He also demoted Pandya, making Shubman Gill the vice-captain in the format instead.
While this decision makes sense in the way that SKY is the oldest regular member of the T20I team (aged 33), but also because Hardik’s health is an issue as the all-rounder usually misses long periods.
But the decision was also shocking for some, as Yadav does not have a lot of experience captaining at the top level. He did captain the Mumbai Ranki team a few years back. He also captained India in seven T20Is late last year, winning seven of those before getting injured.
Scott Styris, who now works as a commentator and analyst for several TV stations around the world, has now revealed what he thinks is the actual reason behind the naming of Suryakumar as the Indian T20I captain.
Scott Styris Calls SKY A temporary Captain
In a recent interview with India Today, the former New Zealand all-rounder said that he sees Surya as a part-time skipper and that Gambhir will be looking for a long-term option over the next couple of years.
“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 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 said.
SKY’s first test as captain will come in the form of a three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka in the island nation. The first game of the India vs Sri Lanka T20I series will be played in the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on July 27 at 7:00 PM.
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