With India's squad for Gautam Gambhir's first series as India head coach getting announced, major changes have already started taking place. Gambhir's influence and voice in the selection process is evident. Suryakumar Yadav - once Gambhir's vice-captain at Kolkata Knight Riders - has been named as the captain of the T20I squad, ahead of 2024 T20 World Cup vice-captain Hardik Pandya. Jasprit Bumrah will be given an extended rest, while Shreyas Iyer returns to the ODI setup despite not having a BCCI central contract. Here are four key takeaways by NDTV Sports from the India squad for the Sri Lanka tour:
1. Hardik Pandya not part of leadership group
Whilst Gambhir's faith in Suryakumar Yadav is not a surprise, what is alarming is the complete omission of Hardik Pandya from any sort of captaincy role. Instead, it is India's captain in the Zimbabwe tour, Shubman Gill, who has been named vice-captain in both the ODIs and T20Is.
One can only speculate the real reason behind Hardik's downfall on the captaincy pecking order. Is it Hardik's disastrous Mumbai Indians stint? Or is it the fact that Hardik's injury-prone nature means he may not always be a part of the squad? It could also be that Gambhir is firmly looking towards the future, aiming to prepare Gill as India's next captain in all formats from now itself.
2. Shubman Gill's Big Promotion
Gambhir seems to have his eyes set firmly on the 2027 World Cup, and it seems like Shubman Gill is his vote as the nation's future captain in all formats. Gill has been named as the vice-captain in both the T20I and the ODI squads, ahead of Hardik Pandya no less. With Rohit being 37 and Suryakumar 33, Gambhir is looking to mould a future captain right from the start.
3. Abhishek Sharma, Kuldeep Yadav, Ruturaj Gaikwad left out of T20I squad
Despite Kuldeep's starring role in India's 2024 T20 World Cup victory - where he picked up 10 wickets in just five games - he has been left out of the T20I squad. The reason behind this could be to manage Kuldeep's workload, as he still continues to feature in the ODI squad.
Gambhir has also worked in close quarters with Ravi Bishnoi in the past at Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), and may trust him as India's lead spinner in T20Is.
Gaikwad has also been left out, despite a fine T20I series against Zimbabwe. He has been left out from both squads, with the likes of Riyan Parag favoured over him.
Abhishek Sharma scored a ton against Zimbabwe but he has also been dropped from the Sri Lanka tour, while off-colour Riyan Parag has been picked for both T20Is and ODIs.
4. Gambhir backs his KKR boys
KKR stars Shreyas Iyer, Harshit Rana (ODIs) and Rinku Singh (T20Is) are all part of Gambhir's first India squad. Much like Suryakumar, Gambhir's faith in Shreyas Iyer also does not come as a surprise, after he guided KKR to a third IPL title in 2024. Harshit Rana had an excellent campaign, and could be utilised as a handy lower-order batsman as well in the ODI format.
Here the India squads for Sri Lanka tour -
T20I Squad: 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.
ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.