Not Hardik Pandya! Gautam Gambhir wants his former KKR teammate to lead India T20I side in Sri Lanka - Report

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly set to announce the Indian squad for the upcoming white-ball series in Sri Lanka on Wednesday, July 17. Newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir is likely to pick his former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) teammate as captain of the Indian T20I side.

Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from T20Is after leading the national cricket team to a trophy during the T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the USA. Hardik Pandya served as Rohit's deputy in the recently concluded tournament. Pandya is expected to succeed Rohit as the captain of the Indian T20I side.

The captaincy of the Indian T20I team has now turned out to be a two-way race between Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav. According to the latest news reports, Gautam Gambhir aims to build a core team for the 2026 T20 World Cup and find a suitable captain for the ICC tournament in India and Sri Lanka.

Hardik Pandya Unlikely To Lead India T20I Team In Sri Lanka

As per ESPNcricinfo, Suryakumar Yadav is expected to be named the T20I captain for the three-match series against Sri Lanka. Gautam Gambhir and the selection committee will make the final decision regarding the captaincy. Hardik Pandya's fitness and workload management are the reasons behind the decision.

"Though Hardik was Rohit's deputy at the T20 World Cup and is a more experienced captain - he has led India in three ODIs and 16 T20Is, apart from leading Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians in the IPL - it is understood fitness concerns and workload management may have tipped the scales against him,” a report by ESPNcricinfo said.

Hardik Pandya injured his ankle during the ODI World Cup at home last year and was out of action until the IPL 2024. He had a lackluster IPL season with the Mumbai Indians (MI). However, Pandya turned his fortunes around in the T20 World Cup. Hardik has played in just 46 of India's 79 T20Is since the start of 2022.

Suryakumar Yadav, on the other hand, has prior experience as an India T20I captain. He led the Indian team to a 4-1 series win against Australia and a 1-1 series draw in South Africa. He is a key player in India's T20I lineup, with 2340 runs in 65 innings at a strike rate of 167.74, including four hundreds and 19 fifties.

The T20I series in Sri Lanka will be the first assignment for Gautam Gambhir, who replaced Rahul Dravid. This series is considered a starting point for building towards the next T20 World Cup. VVS Laxman recently coached the young Indian team, led by Shubman Gill, to a 4-1 series win in Zimbabwe.

The first T20I between India and Sri Lanka will be played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Pallekele on Saturday, July 27. The remaining two matches will be played at the same venue on July 28 and July 30, respectively.

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