Former India coach explains why Suryakumar Yadav as T20I captain over Hardik Pandya

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Former fielding coach R. Sridhar explained why Suryakumar Yadav was chosen over Hardik Pandya as the captain of the Indian T20 team.

Rohit Sharma retired from T20Is after leading India to a T20 World Cup victory in 2024. Although Hardik Pandya was expected to line in as the next captain, Suryakumar Yadav was announced as the captain.

Sridhar highlighted Suryakumar's leadership qualities, noting his previous success when captaining India in T20Is.

"Some of the matches he has captained India in when Rohit and Hardik were not available have given confidence to the BCCI that he can do an excellent job," Sridhar said to Hindustan Times.

He also mentioned Suryakumar's experience as vice-captain and his stint at KKR under Gautam Gambhir.

"He is someone who has exhibited leadership qualities throughout his tenure with the Indian team. That's held him in good stead, again falling back to his rapport with the other players and how they look up to him," Sridhar added.

Sridhar pointed out that Suryakumar's consistent availability for matches played a significant role in his appointment. He also said the lack of workload management issue regarding the batter gave him the nod for captaincy ahead of Hardik Pandya, who has had issues with injuries.

"He is the No. 1 T20 batter in the world and is something that goes in his favour as well. The confidence, the ability to lead the team both on and off the field, the availability of the player for all matches, his cricketing acumen-all these factors have tilted the scales in his favour," he said.

India made a fantastic start in the T20 format under Suryakumar Yadav. The Indian team won the T20I series against Sri Lanka 3-0 at the island country and the Indian captain played a big part in it both as a batter and a leader.