Coach Gautam Gambhir Effect? Suryakumar Yadav Emerges as Dark Horse for India's T20 Captaincy Till 2026 World Cup

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Mumbai, Jul 16: The big-hitting Suryakumar Yadav has emerged as the dark horse to become India's T20 captain till the 2026 World Cup, potentially overtaking the top contender Hardik Pandya.

Pandya's elevation from vice-captain to captain was seen as a natural progression, but recent developments indicate a shift in plans. One of the reasons behind this development is attributed to the newly-appointed India coach Gautam Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar's inclination towards the top-order batter.

Despite making himself available for the shortest format games against Sri Lanka this month, it has been revealed that Suryakumar, who captained India in eight T20Is against Australia and South Africa last year, is the preferred choice of new head coach Gautam Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar.

Both Gambhir and Agarkar communicated this change of plan to Pandya earlier this evening, emphasizing the need for a long-term option to ensure stability.

The T20 leadership role became vacant after Rohit Sharma retired from international T20 cricket following India's World Cup triumph last month in the West Indies. Pandya, one of the heroes of that victory, will take a break during the three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka due to "personal reasons."

The T20Is against Sri Lanka will run from July 27 to 30 in Pallekele, followed by the ODIs from August 2 to 7 in Colombo. The squad for the series is expected to be announced in the next couple of days.

"Hardik Pandya was India's T20 vice-captain under Rohit Sharma. He is completely fit and available for the three-match T20I series and was supposed to lead the side but there is a very strong feeling that SKY would be the potential leader not only for the Sri Lanka series but till the 2026 World Cup," a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

"Hardik's break from ODIs is for very personal reasons. He doesn't have any fitness issue as is being suggested in the media," the official said. The 33-year-old Suryakumar is believed to be one of the most popular players in the Indian dressing room. Under Gambhir's captaincy at the Kolkata Knight Riders, he made a name for himself as a T20 player and was nicknamed 'SKY' by the then skipper.

Hardik was seen as an obvious successor to Rohit, but multiple factors have come into play. His performance as Mumbai Indians skipper was underwhelming, and the selectors are in no mood to let him pick and choose his assignments. The selectors won't mind seeing him play the Vijay Hazare Trophy this season to get some 50-over practice.

Regarding the ODIs, the official confirmed that Pandya has asked for leave and has already communicated this to Rohit, who is also taking a break from this series. For the ODIs, KL Rahul, who led in the last series in South Africa, and Shubman Gill are in contention for the leadership role.