IND vs SL: The much-awaited tour, which will be the new India head coach Gautam Gambhir’s first assignment has been in the buzz for quite some time. However, the squad for the tour has now been delayed over a while, as it was supposed to be declared earlier this week and was then dated on the 17th of July.
Now, as per reports the team meeting for the same has been delayed by a day, as the team selectors and head coach are supposed to address the board members with the final squad on Thursday, 18th of July and then make an announcement.
It has been reported, that the delay is over two main reasons, with one being Gambhir’s demand to have all the senior players available for the Sri Lanka ODIs and the second being the dilemma over appointing Pandya or Suryakumar for the role of the T20I captain.
Previously Hardik Pandya has had many seasons as a skipper in the IPL, as he has captained the Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians and has had quite some success with a title in 2022 with the Gujarat Titans.
Surya on the other hand started his career majorly in the IPL with Gambhir-led Kolkata Knight Riders and has appeared in over 150 matches scoring 3000+ runs in the world-class domestic league. He had the best season with the Mumbai Indians ahead of World Cup 2023, as he scored 600+ runs in IPL 2023 averaging over 60.
Surya has led India in 7 T20I matches, of which the Men in Blue have secured a win on 5 occasions while losing only a single game. Ex-Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma and newly appointed head coach, Gautam Gambhir have also sided with Suryakumar Yadav for the role of India’s T20I captain.
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Though Pandya has had a record worth looking at as a T20 captain, it could not overshadow the over-injured status of the Mumbai Indians skipper. Rohit has said that the 33-year-old who is more senior and mature than Pandya would be hence a declared ideal choice to lead India not only in the series against Sri Lanka but also he will be though as India’s longtime successor of Rohit, as he might lead India upto the T20 World Cup 2026.