Former New Zealand cricket player Scott Styris thinks that Suryakumar Yadav is just a temporary choice for leading the Indian cricket team. Gautam Gambhir, on the other hand, is looking to make Shubman Gill the long-term leader of the team. Suryakumar Yadav, also known as SKY, became the captain for India’s T20 matches after Rohit Sharma stopped playing in this format. Gill was made the vice captain for both T20 and one-day matches during the tour in Sri Lanka, which made Styris think that there are bigger plans for the future.
“I believe he’s a short-term choice. I don’t think Gambhir sees a natural leader among the players he has right now,” said Styris in an interview with India Today.
“He’s taking his time to figure out who will be the next long-term captain,” Styris added.
“I believe someone like Gill could potentially lead India for a decade, but he’s not quite prepared at the moment. So, it was a wise choice to introduce someone with more experience,” Styris commented.
SKY is 33 years old, and Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma is 37. Thus, choosing a captain who can serve in the long term seems like a logical step by Gambhir.
Gill took charge as India’s captain for the first time on the tour to Zimbabwe after the T20 World Cup, leading India to a 4-1 victory in a five-match series. Earlier this year, Gill had led the IPL team Gujarat Titans to a disappointing 8th-place finish.
Styris noted that even with this long-term plan, SKY might continue as India’s T20I captain until the next T20 World Cup in 2026.
“If SKY performs well, he could become the captain for the next T20 World Cup. After that, we can consider Gill or other possible choices. I believe it’s a smart move,” Styris commented.
Team India have already won a three match T 20 series under Sky’s captaincy taking a 2-0 lead.
