Rishabh Pant comes up with a surprising revelation on Suryakumar Yadav-Gautam Gambhir presence in Indian cricket

Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant shared his thoughts on new captain Suryakumar Yadav and new head coach Gautam Gambhir for the T20I series against Sri Lanka. Rishabh Pant hoped that the Indian team could perform better in the upcoming matches under Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir.

Suryakumar Yadav replaced Rohit Sharma as India's T20I skipper for the three-match series against Sri Lanka. Yadav was preferred over Hardik Pandya, who was vice-captain of India in the T20 World Cup 2024. Gautam Gambhir also took charge of the Indian team as head coach before the Sri Lanka series.

The Men in Blue secured a comfortable 43-run win in the first T20I match against Sri Lanka under the new leadership. The Indian team scored 213 runs for the loss of seven wickets in 20 overs. The Indian bowlers bundled out the opposition for 170 runs in 19.2 overs during the series opener in Pallekele on July 27.

The Start Has Been Pretty Normal - Rishabh Pant

In a video shared by Sony Sports Network on X (formerly Twitter), Rishabh Pant said that he had played with Gautam Gambhir for Delhi in domestic cricket. Rishabh added that Suryakumar Yadav will go a long way as the Indian skipper. He described playing under the new captain and new coach as pretty normal.

"Moving on to this series, new captain, new coach, how's it been just coming here to Sri Lanka?" the anchor asked.

"I think the start has been pretty normal, I would say. Gauti Bhai has been very welcoming. Surya as a captain has just started, and I think he's going to go a long way going forward. I have played with him at the domestic level. He played for Delhi also, and it's been quite a journey. So, looking at lots of positives, haven't thought about anything else right now, just taking one day at a time. The start is nice, and let's hope we can do better in the match," Pant said.

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Rishabh Pant was picked over Sanju Samson in the playing XI for the first match of the three-match T20I series. Rishabh struggled to score in the middle overs as he was at 20 (20) at one stage. However, he managed to smash the boundaries in the death overs to increase his strike rate in the recent match.

Pant and Suryakumar Yadav added a 76-run partnership for the third wicket. Suryakumar scored 58 runs off 26 balls, including eight fours and two sixes. The left-handed batter amassed 49 runs off 33 balls, including six boundaries and one six, before being dismissed by Matheesha Pathirana in the 19th over.

Following their strong performance in the series opener, the Indian team aims for another win in the second T20I to secure a 2-0 lead in the three-match series against Sri Lanka. The second match of the ongoing series is scheduled to be played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Sunday, July 28.

Also read: "Wouldn’t have made Hardik Pandya captain"- New Zealand legend backs Gautam Gambhir's decision to appoint Suryakumar Yadav