Suryakumar Yadav, known for his powerful batting, is now considered a strong candidate to lead India’s T20 team until the 2026 World Cup. He might even surpass Hardik Pandya, who was previously thought to be the likely next captain after serving as vice-captain. Pandya is available to play in the T20 matches against Sri Lanka this month, but it seems that Suryakumar, who led India in eight T20 matches against Australia and South Africa last year, is the favored choice of the new head coach, Gautam Gambhir, and the chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar.
It has been learned that both Gambhir and Agarkar talked to Pandya about this change in plans earlier this evening and told him that a long-term decision was being made to ensure stability.
The T20 leadership position became available after Rohit Sharma ended his international career in the shortest format following India’s World Cup win last month in the West Indies.
Pandya, who was one of the key players in that victory, will rest during the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka due to “personal reasons”. The T20 matches against Sri Lanka will take place from July 27 to 30 in Pallekele, followed by the ODIs from August 2 to 7 in Colombo.
The team for the upcoming matches will likely be named in the next few days.
“Hardik Pandya served as the second-in-command for India’s T20 team under Rohit Sharma. He is fully healthy and ready to play in the three-game T20 series. He was set to be the captain, but there’s a strong belief that SKY might take over as the leader not just for the Sri Lanka games but until the 2026 World Cup,” a high-ranking BCCI official shared with PTI, asking to remain unnamed.
“Hardik’s decision to skip the ODIs is due to personal reasons. He is not facing any fitness problems as some reports suggest,” the official clarified.
Suryakumar, who is 33 years old, is thought to be one of the most liked players among the Indian team members.
He became well-known as a T20 player while playing under Gambhir’s leadership at the Kolkata Knight Riders, and the former captain gave him the nickname ‘SKY’.
Hardik was considered the likely next leader after Rohit, but various issues have arisen.
His time as the captain of the Mumbai Indians was not very impressive, and the selectors are not willing to let him choose only the matches he wants to play.
The decision-makers would be okay with him participating in the Vijay Hazare Trophy this season to gain some experience in 50-over matches.
Regarding the One Day Internationals (ODIs), the spokesperson confirmed that Pandya has requested time off and has already informed Rohit, who is also skipping this series.
For the ODIs, KL Rahul, who was in charge during the previous series in South Africa, and Gill are both being considered for the captaincy position.
