Suryakumar Yadav has started his T20I captaincy regime on an impressive note with back-to-back wins over Sri Lanka to clinch the three-match series. The star batter has led India in the past against Australia and South Africa, but now things have changed; he is not an interim captain for a tour anymore; the selectors have picked him as a successor to Rohit Sharma, who led India to the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph. Surya was elevated to a big role after the arrival of Gautam Gambhir as head coach as the selection committee also received positive feedback about the Mumbai batter, and he pipped Hardik Pandya for the big role. Suryakumar has also been tagged as a T20I specialist by the selectors as he has been dropped out of the ODI team set-up for now.
However, former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris suggested that new head coach Gambhir didn't get a natural skipper as Surya is just a short-term option for the Indian team.
"I think he's a short-term option. I don't think Gambhir has a natural captain amongst the players that he has right now," said Styris, speaking to India Today.
"He's buying himself time as to who will be the next long-term captain," continued Styris.
The selectors have also elevated Shubman Gill to the vice-captain's role in white-ball cricket to get him ready for the captaincy opportunity in the future.
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Styric also feels that the BCCI is looking at Shubman as their future captain, but he is not ready at the moment, which is why they make a smart move by choosing Suryakumar as the captain for now.
{{/usCountry}}Styric also feels that the BCCI is looking at Shubman as their future captain, but he is not ready at the moment, which is why they make a smart move by choosing Suryakumar as the captain for now.
{{/usCountry}}"You know, someone like Gill I think could do the job for 10 years for India, but he's not quite ready right now, so I think it was a really smart decision to bring in someone with a bit more experience," Styris added.
The former New Zealand all-rounder also suggested that if things go well for Surya, he might also lead India in the next T20 WC, where they will play as defending champions.
"If he (SKY) does a decent enough job, then he might be the captain at the next T20 World Cup. And then after that, you can look at Gill or any of the other potential options around. But yeah, I think it's a really clever decision," said Styris.