Sunil Gavaskar Namedrops MS Dhoni In Big Verdict On Suryakumar Yadav's Legacy As India T20I Skipper

Suryakumar Yadav was stripped of the Indian cricket team T20I captaincy ahead of the series against England and Ireland. The star batter, who suffered through a horrible run of form in the past year, was replaced by Shreyas Iyer just months after winning the T20 World Cup 2026. Under SKY's captaincy, India won the World Cup as well as the Asia Cup in the past year and although his batting form was nothing impressive, his leadership earned him a lot of praise from both fans as well as experts. In a conversation with India Today, legendary India batter Sunil Gavaskar was asked about the legacy that SKY will leave behind as T20I captain and he ended up mentioning MS Dhoni while talking about Suryakumar's captaincy style.

"As a captain, he always had a smile on his face. He was not one of those captains who did not want to acknowledge the opposition. If an opposition played well or an opposition batter played well, he would show appreciation with his facial expressions. Generally, he was somebody who was in the mould of MS Dhoni. He did not seem to get upset when things were not going right for the team. So, keeping his cool was something that he will leave behind as his legacy. Also the smart moves and bowling changes along with the shuffles in the batting order. As a captain, he will be remembered," he said.

Meanwhile, the national selection panel did not include Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Hardik Pandya in the squads to tour Ireland and England in a strong indication that the wisemen are largely reserving their services for Tests and ODIs in the coming season.

Bumrah and Pandya were a shadow of themselves in the recent IPL 2026 for Mumbai Indians after being on the field since late last year playing several T20 games, including a triumphant campaign in the World Cup, warranting a careful handling of the duo.

Bumrah will return to action during the Asian Games to be held from September 17 to October 3, but chief selector Ajit Agarkar made it clear that the pacer will be used more in longer formats.

“Yeah, and also one-day World Cup, like T20 (format) was in the last World Cup...we know how important he is,” Agarkar replied when he was asked if Bumrah was being preserved for Test assignments.

“The WTC cycle...we've still got a chance to (qualify for the final) if we play well enough over these next nine Tests, if we can have Jasprit play majority of those games and still keep him fit and healthy, it's always a (great) thing," he added.

(With PTI inputs)

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Suryakumar Yadav Sunil Gavaskar Shreyas Iyer India Cricket Team England Cricket Team Ireland Cricket Team Cricket