IND VS SA: Suryakumar Yadav looks at SKY as the limit as he leads against Proteas in a challenging T20 series

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India captaincy was not thrust on Suryakumar Yadav in the T20 format, he was deemed as a worthy leader after Rohit Sharma gave up captaincy following the ICC World Cup triumph in the West Indies this June.

The brief chats within the BCCI in July on change in leadership roles saw Surya, better known as SKY, get the prime job. At the same time, tongues wagged, Hardik Pandya had been overlooked.

If you think this topic has been forgotten, no, it is not. The Mumbai lobby had to keep quiet since both SKY and Pandya play for the same side - Mumbai Indians, in the IPL.

Now that the dust has settled over the core composition of MI for the 2025 IPL season, one has to look forward. This applies to the Indian T20 team as well since SKY now leads a side which takes on South Africa in a challenging series.

Nobody better than SKY knows, captaincy is exciting as well as demanding. At the same time, he is well aware, any blip in the performance means, he will face flak. He knows what happened to Rohit Sharma after the loss in the Test series to New Zealand.

Rohit is still being castigated and his own batting is being questioned. It has created a kind of fear, how trolls can take a toll. SKY was honest at the press conference on Thursday night where he spoke on his own captaincy style, his own batting and how the two need to be treated differently.

It was a clear sign of maturity from the T20 skipper. One of the problems in leadership is, star performers expect far too much from other teammates.

Someone like Sachin Tendulkar gave up captaincy on his own as he felt others were not stepping up to his level. But then, Sachin being Sachin, he had no qualms about playing just as a team member under different captains.

Back to SKY, it was his honesty he spoke so glowingly about Rohit as his captain and mentor. Players pick up from their captains, how to lead, how to stay calm and how to optimise performance from teammates.

This is what SKY has hinted at, how he can ensure the players in his own side now can do their best. It includes Hardik Pandya as well, a proven cricketer. That SKY has spoken will also ensure there is less gossip on social media. At least, juicy dressing room 'leaks' will be put on hold!

Where SKY has also revealed a few secrets is how his 360-degree batting and captaincy cannot be the same. What SKY has implied is while he has the freedom to bat the way he does, full of creativity and aggression, when it comes to commanding his forces, he will be different.

Obviously, he will not be lenient but if he can give the newcomers and fringe players more space, it will be good. SKY knows, he has been assigned the leadership role till the 2026 T20 World Cup. It means he has time to build on the team, become familiar with the players.

At present, he has VVS Laxman for company as coach. VVS is calm, so he and SKY should be a great fusion. At the same time, should Gautam Gambhir be the captain till 2026, he and SKY will have to forge a different type of partnership.

As of now, SKY has led India to 11 out of 13 wins. He cannot sustain the record in each series but will look to learn and work with the boys as a team. That is the message he has conveyed, very important at a time when the T20 team is transition after Rohit, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja quit the format.