Watch: Gautam Gambhir's KKR pride on display as he carries special bag to first practice session as India coach

The new era in the Indian National Cricket Team has started. Newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir and T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav have taken over the reins of the team. This comes ahead of the T20I series against Sri Lanka National Cricket Team.

India National Cricket Team have reached Sri Lanka for the white-ball series. The two teams will be up against each other in the three-match T20I series and then the three-match ODI series. The 20-over series will begin on the 27th of July while the 50-over games are all set to begin from 2nd August.

This will also see Gautam Gambhir's first assignment as the head coach of the India National Cricket. The former India captain was appointed as the head coach of the team recently after Rahul Dravid’s tenure ended after T20 World Cup 2024. Gambhir emerged as a prime candidate by the BCCI and hence was roped in.

Apart from Gautam Gambhir, it will also be the first series for Suryakumar Yadav as the full-time captain of the India National Cricket Team in the T20Is. The right-hander was appointed as the skipper of the team after Rohit Sharma retired from the format after winning the T20 World Cup 2024.

Originally, Hardik Pandya was expected to be the next T20I captain of the India National Cricket Team. But his injury history and the workload management didn't work in his favour as BCCI along with head coach Gautam Gambhir weren't keen to give the role to the all-rounder. Hence, Suryakumar Yadav was given the responsibility to captain the team.

Suryakumar has been India's best batter in the T20Is ever since he made his debut for the team. He also held the top rank at ICC rankings for more than 600 days and is arguably one of the consistent batters for the team in the format hence selectors felt he was the right guy to take the role.

Suryakumar Yadav earlier captained the team in the T20Is. During the time when Rohit Sharma was rested and Hardik Pandya was injured, he was given the responsibility. He captained the team in the series against Australia after the ICC World Cup 2023 and then the South Africa series, winning 5 out of the 7 games that he captained.

Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav begin training session ahead of T20I series against Sri Lanka

India team on Monday (22nd July) reached Sri Lanka for the T20Is. A day later, newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav were off and going. The coach of the team was seen deboarding the team bus, carrying a bag with KKR logo, and then going into the stadium for the practice session.

Here are the videos:

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In another clip, Suryakumar Yadav was seen coming down the steps and running to get the practice session going. The right-hander was seen along with fast bowler Mohammed Siraj as the duo hit the ground running ahead of the first game of the series.

Here's the video:

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Both Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav would be eager to start their tenure on high. The duo gel well together as they earlier played at the Kolkata Knight Riders together. While Gambhir was the skipper, Suryakumar was the vice-captain of the team.