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'Once Rohit Sharma comes into India's T20 squad...': Gambhir's bold verdict on Suryakumar Yadav's vice-captaincy
Gautam Gambhir is not getting too ahead of himself as far as Suryakumar Yadav's vice-captaincy is concerned. The former India opener cautioned against being too excited about Surya's elevation given the uncertainty that surrounds India's T20I squad going forward.
After enjoying a superlative year in 2022, Suryakumar Yadav was elevated as India's vice-captaincy for the T20I series against Sri Lanka starting Tuesday in Mumbai. With Hardik Pandya leading in T20Is and Suryakumar his deputy, exciting times lie ahead for Indian cricket with the former Mumbai Indians duo sharing leadership roles. There are hints that going forward, India's T20I set-up will be about Pandya and his young brigade, while the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will make limited appearances – if at all – given the 2024 T20 World Cup in mind.
Having said that, Gautam Gambhir is not getting too ahead of himself as far as SKY's vice-captaincy is concerned. The former India opener cautioned against being too excited about Surya's elevation given the uncertainty that surrounds India's T20I squad going forward. If at all Rohit Sharma returns for the T20Is going forward, he will certainly be captaining the side, but in that case, whether Suryakumar still remains vice-captain or the baton passes to Hardik, only time will tell.
"I don't think we need to look into it that much because we have to wait and watch once Rohit comes into the T20 squad whether they are going to still continue with Hardik as the captain and Surya as the vice-captain. We will have to wait and watch because how many options did you have with this young squad? " Gambhir said on ESPNCricinfo.
If there is a deserving candidate to be India's VC in T20Is, it is Surya. He was the biggest positive in an otherwise disappointing 2022 for Team India. Not only was he the leading run-getter in T20Is with 1164 runs, Surya also reached the summit of the ICC T20I rankings for batters. He scores two blistering centuries and multiple match-winning fifties for India, which makes him the ideal contender for the leadership role. In addition to his previous statement, Gambhir mentioned that even if Rohit returns, it may not be a bad choice for Surya to remain the vice-captain and backed him to excel at the role.
"Now he has been trusted with leadership and being the vice-captain of the country is always a great honour. So I am sure he is going to do a good job. Even if Rohit Sharma comes in and the selectors feel that Hardik is the right guy and Surya is the vice-captain, you can't keep chopping and changing. If this is your leadership core, so be it," Gambhir pointed out.
