Gautam Gambhir has got his desired combination in his first series as Team India head coach.
While Suryakumar Yadav has been confirmed as the T20I captain ahead of Hardik Pandya who was deputy to Rohit Sharma in the World Cup, senior pros Rohit and Virat Kohli have agreed to cut short their vacation and make themselves available for the ODI series in Sri Lanka.
The national selection committee also thought it prudent to have a new vice-captain in the circumstances and chose Shubman Gill in what is being seen as a stepping stone towards building a young and vibrant squad for the future. Gill recently led the side to a 4-1 victory in Zimbabwe.
Pandya has been retained as a playing member in the 15-member squad while the likes of Riyan Parag and Khaleel Ahmed have been rewarded for their IPL performances with berths in both the T20 and ODI squads. Pandya though isn’t part of the ODIs since he had requested the BCCI for a break.
The selection on Thursday was the culmination of a series of meetings over the last few days which included chairman of the selection committee Ajit Agarkar and Gambhir, besides BCCI secretary Jay Shah. The discussion didn’t go ahead as scheduled on Wednesday after the BCCI failed to arrive at a consensus with the selectors on the captaincy issue.
Surya’s elevation came after Gambhir made his choice clear to the selection committee. Pandya’s fitness was a major concern for the new head coach and he didn’t want to get into a situation where the captain would break down before or in the middle of a series.
The BCCI brass, however, were in favour of continuity and preferred Pandya since he had been groomed to step into Rohit’s shoes. Pandya had led the side post the 2022 World Cup in Australia and was replaced only when he was laid low by an injury. The all-rounder also performed admirably during their title-winning campaign in the US and the West Indies.
His continuing as captain after Rohit was assumed to be a formality until Gambhir came on board and discussions with Agarkar on a change at the helm gained prominence.
The BCCI agreed to Gambhir’s demands in keeping with the promise of giving the former India opener a free hand in running the squad.
Agarkar also favoured a change of captaincy in the game’s shortest format in keeping with the demands for the 2026 World Cup.
Surya had led India to a 4-1 series win over Australia last November, followed by a 1-1 series draw in South
Africa when Pandya was unavailable due to an ankle injury. The world’s No.2 T20 batter isn’t a part of the ODI squad which implies that he was
the preferred choice in only one format.
Sources told The Telegraph that Surya’s communication skills and leadership acumen played a role in his promotion though he can never be assumed to be a youngster at 33.
Pandya’s all-round skills were never doubted by the selectors but there’s a belief that his natural abilities are significantly curtailed once he dons
the captain’s hat. It showed during Mumbai Indians’ disastrous run in the IPL, his
triumph at Gujarat Titans in 2022 notwithstanding.
Two of the Big 3, Rohit and Kohli, also decided to make themselves available for the ODI series in keeping with Gambhir’s wishes. With not many ODIs slotted before the Champions Trophy in February, the head coach wanted to play at full strength. Jasprit Bumrah though wasn’t available and Ravindra Jadeja wasn’t picked.
Harshit Rana, who played a pivotal role in KKR’s IPL title triumph under Gambhir’s mentorship, has also earned his first break. The franchise’s captain Shreyas Iyer made a comeback to the ODI side.
The real surprise has been the exclusion of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhishek Sharma for T20Is. Both performed well in Zimbabwe with Abhishek notching his first hundred in the second match.
The three-match T20I series begins on July 27 followed by the ODIs.
