Former cricketer Kris Srikkanth showered praise on Indian batsman Suryakumar Yadav and said he has the qualities to lead the Males in Blue.
r_page_title -->India have named Suryakumar Yadav as the captain of the men’s T20I team for the tour of Sri Lanka, with Shubman Gill as vice-captain of the T20I and ODI teams.
Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Srikkanth said that Suryakumar can prove himself as a superb captain in the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka.
\”Tips from the dressing room? I can’t understand it. Sure, Suryakumar has the qualities to be a captain. I agree. He could make an excellent captain. However, the reasons for leaving Hardik Pandya as captain are very vague in terms of reasoning,” Srikkanth said.
Hardik, who was leading the T20I teams on tours after the 2022 ICC T20 World Cup debacle in Australia, where England beat India by 10 wickets in the semi-final, has been removed from the leadership positions.
He led India in 16 T20I matches, winning 10, losing 5 and one ending in a draw. His winning percentage was 62.50.
Hardik’s exit from the team came despite his solid performance in the T20 World Cup triumph, scoring 144 runs in six innings at an average of 48.00 and a strike rate of 151.57, with a half-century and a top score of 50*. He also took 11 wickets in eight matches at an average of 17.36 and an economy rate of 7.64, with one of his highest figures being 3/20.
Suryakumar has led India in two series immediately after their 2023 World Cup final defeat by Australia by 50 overs, where Australia toured India and India toured South Africa.
In total, he has led India in seven matches, winning five and losing two. He was handed the match against Australia, while the match against South Africa ended in a draw.
The former cricketer added that he disagreed with Team India chief selector Ajit Agarkar’s reason for removing Hardik Pandya from the captaincy.
“I think they left because of suggestions from the dressing room. He probably should have come from the IPL. Health is something I can’t agree with.
He did the whole IPL. He also played bowling. It’s true that he didn’t do very well (in the IPL). That’s another topic. Mumbai Indians didn’t qualify.
At the World Cup he was vice-captain and played very well, so health is something I don’t agree with,” he added. Earlier, in a press conference, Ajit Agarkar had said that health was an issue for Hardik, which is why he was not given the responsibility of leading the Indian team in the T20I series against Sri Lanka.
\”Hardik is always an important player for us. These skills are hard to come by. His health has been a problem for him. We hope their performances are more important than anything else.
We want someone who is willing to be available most of the time.
Having said that, Surya has acquired all the qualities needed to be a captain,” Agarkar told a press conference.
India’s tour of Sri Lanka will begin on July 27. The tour will begin with a three-match T20I series, followed by a three-match ODI series, starting August 2.
Pallekele International Stadium will host the T20I leg of the series, while R Premadasa will host the 50-over matches. È probabili che i tre ODI si giocheranno il 2, 4 e 7 agosto.
Squad T20I for Sri Lanka: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel , Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj , Shubman Gill (VC).
Sri Lanka’s ODI team: Rohit Sharma (C),Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK, Shreyas Iyer, , Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana Shubman Gill (VC), Rishabh Pant (wk) ,Shivam Dube .
