2024-07-21 13:07:59
Star batsman Suryakumar Yadav will never forget the night of 18 July 2024. He was made the captain of the Indian T20 team, sidelining Hardik Pandya. It is believed that Surya has the back support of new head coach Gautam Gambhir, chief selector and former captain Rohit Sharma. The team selected for the Sri Lanka tour starting from July 27 has to play three T20 and as many ODI matches there. It is not that Surya has been made the captain for the first time, but this time the story is different. The team management wants to keep him as the captain till the next T20 World Cup in 2026, so this time he has different challenges. Let’s take a look at the three difficult challenges he will face on the Sri Lanka tour…
I have to prove myself as a captain
33-year-old Suryakumar Yadav has very limited experience of captaincy at the top level. So far, he has got the opportunity to captain India in only seven T20 matches, in which the Men in Blue have won five matches. Under Surya’s leadership, the team defeated Australia 4-1 in the home series. After this, on the South Africa tour, they came back after playing a 1-1 draw in the T20 series. Now the next six months will tell how much he is able to live up to the trust placed in him.
Filling Rohit Sharma’s place is a big challenge
The selection of the Indian team for the Sri Lanka tour also shows that the selectors and coach want to give a new direction to limited overs cricket. After Rohit’s retirement, the team will now need a captain who keeps the dressing room atmosphere pleasant. In the last two-three years, Rohit Sharma was captaining India in all three formats, so Surya will be expected to have the quality of taking all the players along like him.
The extra responsibility should not affect the batting
After getting the big responsibility of captaincy, now the real test of Suryakumar Yadav will begin. After getting the responsibility, some players fall apart while some shine. Surya’s bat has also performed well while handling the captaincy. In seven matches, he has scored 300 runs with a century, two half-centuries at an average of 42.85. The entire Indian team including Yadav would like that his form remains intact even after assuming the responsibility of captaincy.