Why Suryakumar Yadav, not Hardik Pandya as captain? BCCI listened to players ahead of India vs Sri Lanka series: Report

India vs Sri Lanka T20I: The squad for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka was announced on July 18. Speculations finally came to an end as to who will lead India in T20 format after Rohit Sharma's retirement from shortest format. Suryakumar Yadav aka Sky has been picked and appointed as the captain of the Indian T20 team over Hardik Pandya who was also in the front running. The upcoming T20I three-match series against Sri Lanka will start from July 27.

Hardik Pandya on the other hand has not been given even Vice Captain role. Pandya who was the Vice Captain in the T20 World Cup 2024 confirmed his divorce rumours with his wife and actor Natasa Stankovic on July 18.

Now a report by The Indian Express have stated that player trust played a significant role in choosing Suryakumar Yadav over Pandya. The players reportedly were more comfortable working under Yadav. According to the report, feedback received by the BCCI indicated that players trusted Yadav more and felt more at ease working under his leadership. The report also added that though, BCCI and the selection committee recognised Pandya as an important part of the Indian team, they do not view him as a potential leader.

The Indian Express report also listed another another significant factor that is SKY's management skills on how he handles the players. Yadav captained Team India in a T20 series in South Africa. Once incident that the report highlightes is that when Ishan Kishan wanted to leave mid-series, Surya persuaded him to stay, gaining the attention of key team members. It added that Sky's communication style is somewhat similar to Rohit which makes it easier for players to have discussions with him.

Check full squad for T20I

Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), 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, Mohd. Siraj.