Surya Kumar Yadav, India’s new T20I captain exudes excitement on his reunion with Gautam Gambhir. Before Surya’s heroics at the Mumbai Indians, he had a short stint at the Kolkata Knight Riders. Gautam Gambhir was his first IPL captain there and also had a crucial say in Suryakumar’s signing.
Surya played at the lower order in his KKR days which provided him with limited opportunities, but his unconventional strokeplay showed a certain promise. In 2018 both men went in different directions and after almost six years, the two have reunited this time as a captain-coach duo for the Indian T20I side.
On being asked about his KKR days and whether Gambhir had any regrets in not tapping his full potential at that time, Suryakumar had his typically jovial style of response. “To abhi kar lenge potential use poora (then we’ll use the full potential now)”, said Suryakumar Yadav at the pre-series press conference while instantly breaking into a laugh.
“Our bond has always been special. It’s been 10 years now since 2014. In 2018, we both went to different franchises but we kept in touch, talking regularly about the game. When we played for different teams, we would discuss the game, of how we could have done better. The learning has been going on even when we were not together. This bond is special. It’s been 2-3 days and we have been talking. We haven’t spoken much but he understands me from my body language now. I understand from his body language what he wants to tell me. Half the times he understands even when I don’t say anything. This bond is special between a coach and a captain. I’m very excited for the journey ahead, let’s see what happens.”
Surya has huge boots to fill in taking over from the World Cup-winning captain Rohit Sharma. His appointment as a skipper at first came as a surprise to everybody. Hardik who was serving the role of India’s vice-captain was expected to take over the reigns, but his fitness was seen as a concern by the selectors and the management, hence the appointment of Surya.
India will take on Sri Lanka in 3 T20Is starting tomorrow (27th of July) which will be followed by 3 ODIs. The T20I series would be a great opportunity for Surya personally to showcase his leadership potential and ensure his role as the captain in the T20 World Cup at home in 2026.
