(July 27), T20I series between India and Sri Lanka: Suryakumar Yadav’s reaction to Gautam Gambhir’s two-month-old statement split reporters.
Gautam Gambhir, who had not yet been named the head coach of the Indian men’s cricket team, acknowledged in May of this year that his biggest regret as Kolkata Knight Riders captain was not realizing Suryakumar Yadav’s full potential, even as a batter. After two months, Suryakumar—who is currently coach Gambhir’s Indian T20I captain—reacted to the comment that had the Pallekele press conference in splits.
In the Indian Premier League (IPL), Suryakumar has been identified with the Mumbai Indians. His batting prowess has allowed him to establish himself in the Indian team. However, from 2014 to 2017, when Gambhir led the team as captain and Suryakumar was promoted to vice captain, he was a member of the KKR squad.
Gambhir acknowledged, “A leader’s role is to identify the best potential and show it to the world,” in an interview with Sportskeeda in May. If there’s one thing I regret from my seven years as captain, it’s that neither I nor the team were able to fully utilize Suryakumar Yadav.
And combinations were the key to the cause. At No. 3, you can only play one player. As a leader, you also need to consider the other ten players in the starting lineup. Although he was just as good at No. 7, he would have been far more productive at No. 3.
Before the three-match Twenty20 International series against Sri Lanka began on Friday at the Pallekele International Stadium, Suryakumar was informed of Gambhir’s remorse. He then made a lighthearted comment that had reporters laughing uncontrollably.
The newly appointed captain of the India T20I team then talked about his “special” relationship with Gambhir and how they have kept in contact even though they haven’t played for the same IPL team since 2018.
“It has been ten years since 2014, and our relationship has always been unique. We moved to two different IPL franchises in 2018, but we kept in contact. We continued talking about matches, performances, and areas in which I could improve. As a result, I kept learning, and it remained a very special relationship for me. We haven’t spoken much in the last three to four days, but he understands me even when I don’t say anything and knows when I want to say something. I’m so happy about that,” he remarked.
Not only will the T20I series against Sri Lanka usher in the Gambhir era as head coach, but it will also be Suryakumar’s first assignment as the permanent captain of India.
