Former cricketer Kris Srikkanth showered praise on star India batter Suryakumar Yadav and said that he has the qualities to lead the Men in Blue. India has named Suryakumar Yadav as the captain of their men's T20I team for the tour of Sri Lanka, with Shubman Gill as the vice-captain of the T20I and ODI sides. Speaking on his official YouTube channel, Srikkanth said that Suryakumar can prove himself to be a good captain in the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka.
"Feedback from the dressing room? I am not able to understand that. Yes, Suryakumar has the qualities to be captain. I agree to that. He could prove to be a very good captain. But the reasons for dropping Hardik Pandya as captain are beating around the bush in terms of the reasoning," Srikkanth said.
Hardik, who was leading the T20I sides in the tours after the ICC T20 World Cup 2022 debacle in Australia, where England beat India by 10 wickets in the semis, has been removed from the leadership roles. He led India in 16 T20I matches, winning 10, losing five, and one ending in a tie. His win percentage was 62.50.
Hardik's removal from leadership came despite his strong performance in the T20 World Cup triumph, scoring 144 runs in six innings at an average of 48.00 and a strike rate of 151.57, with a half-century and best score of 50*. He also took 11 wickets in eight games at an average of 17.36 and an economy rate of 7.64, with the best figures of 3/20.
Suryakumar has led India in two series just after the 50-over World Cup 2023 final loss to Australia, in which Australia toured India and India made a tour to South Africa. Overall, he led India in seven matches, winning five and losing two. He won the series against Australia, while the series against South Africa ended in a draw.
The former cricketer added that he does not agree with Team India's chief selector, Ajit Agarkar's reason for dropping Hardik Pandya from captaincy.
"I think they have gone from the feedback of the dressing room. It must have probably been from the IPL. Fitness is something that I will not agree. He played the entire IPL. He also bowled. Yes, he might not have done well (in the IPL). That's another issue. Mumbai Indians didn't qualify. At the World Cup, he was the vice-captain and he played well. So, fitness is something that I won't agree with," he added.
Earlier in a press conference, Ajit Agarkar said that fitness has been a challenge with Hardik for which he was not given the responsibility to lead Team India in the T20I series against Sri Lanka.
"Hardik is always an important player for us. Those skillsets are hard to find. Fitness has been a challenge with him. Hopefully, his performances are more important than anything else. We want someone who is likely to be available more often than not. Saying all that, Surya has got all the necessary qualities to be the captain," Agarkar said in the press conference.
India's tour of Sri Lanka will start from July 27. The tour will start with a three-match T20I series, followed by a three-match ODI series, which will start from August 2.
The Pallekele International Stadium will be hosting the T20I leg of the series while the R Premadasa is getting to host the 50-over matches.
The three ODIs will be held on August 2, August 4, and August 7.
T20I Squad for Sri Lanka series: 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, Mohammed Siraj.
ODI Squad for Sri Lanka series: 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.