Chief selector Ajit Agarkar revealed on Monday that Suryakumar Yadav had been appointed as the captain of Indian T20 side for their Sri Lanka tour due to his fitness, feedback from the dressing room and consistent availability. There will be three T20 Internationals and three ODIs during the tour starting from 27th July.
Agarkar mentioned that during his first press conference with Gautam Gambhir he said, “The head coach wanted a captain who would participate in every game.”
During a conversation with Gautam Gambhir in his first interview as the head coach of team India, Ajit Agarkar talked about how important it is to have a captain who can play in all games since it was observed some time back.“There were obvious problems relating to fitness, we needed some one more likely to be around,” clarified him.
Suryakumar Yadav’s selection ahead of Hardik Pandya was also expounded by Agarkar. He acknowledged Yadav as one of the finest T20 batters and explained that his leadership attributes would contribute towards him playing all games.
“He is among the most fantastic T20 batters around and as for playing as captain he is likely to feature in every match. We believe he deserves being a leader and let us see whether or not he fits into this role,” added Agarkar.
On the other hand, Agarkar admitted Hardik Pandya’s unique skill set but highlighted his ongoing fitness challenge.
“Very few people possess skills like those of Hardik’s; again physical fitness, we know how difficult it is to come across such things. We will have some more time on our hands and look at certain things,” while underscoring the significance of health when selecting players, expressed Mr. Agarkar.
What’s more, he cited feedback from inside rooms which played its part too.
“We have taken general feedback from the dressing room also,” he said in answer to a question concerning inclusion of senior team’s view.
Answering as to why KL Rahul, formerly the vice-captain, was left out Agarkar declared, “I was not there when KL was overtaken.” This made him distance himself from decisions that had previously been made by the selectors.
The T20 series against Sri Lanka will start on July 27 at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium with additional games scheduled for July 28 and 30. The teams for these six games are being led by Suryakumar Yadav who is captaining a squad of fifteen players.
ODIs have been planned for August 2nd, 4th and 7th at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Rohit Sharma will again captain India’s One-Day International (ODI) team during the ODI leg of their tour of Sri Lanka after retiring from international T20s following India’s victory in last year’s World Cup in the Caribbean.
