“Suryakumar Yadav Opens Up On Bond With Gautam Gambhir, Says ‘Even Though I Wasn’t…'”
India captain Suryakumar Yadav has shared his thoughts on his relationship with new head coach Gautam Gambhir as they prepare to team up for the first time in Indian colors during the T20I series opener against Sri Lanka in Pallekele. The series, which kicks off on Saturday, marks Suryakumar’s debut as captain and Gambhir’s first assignment as head coach of the Indian team.
Reflecting on his leadership role, Suryakumar mentioned his enjoyment of being a leader on the field, even when not officially captaining the side. “I have always enjoyed being a leader on the field even though I was not the captain. I have always learnt a lot from different captains. It’s a good feeling and a great responsibility,” he told BCCI.TV ahead of the first T20I against Sri Lanka in Pallekele.
Discussing his bond with Gambhir, Suryakumar reminisced about his early days in the IPL under Gambhir’s captaincy at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR). “This relationship is special because in 2014 I played under him in KKR. It was special because from there only I got opportunities. The relationship is still strong. He knows how I work, what is my mindset when I come to practice sessions. I also know how he tries to work as a coach. It’s all about the lovely relationship we have and very excited to see how it goes forward,” he said.
Suryakumar also highlighted a significant lesson he has learned from cricket: the importance of humility and maintaining balance. “I think the most important thing I have learned from this sport is how humble you are after achieving something or even when you are not doing well. When you do something on the ground, you have to leave it on the ground. This is not your life; it is just part of your life. You cannot be on top when you are doing well and underground when you’re not,” he added.
Suryakumar has previously led India in seven T20Is, winning five matches and losing two during the home series against Australia and an away series against South Africa last year.
India’s tour of Sri Lanka includes a three-match T20I series followed by a three-match ODI series. The T20Is will be held at Pallekele International Stadium, while the R Premadasa Stadium will host the ODIs on August 2, 4, and 7.
Both teams will debut new head coaches: legendary all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya as the interim head coach for Sri Lanka, and former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir for India, succeeding T20 World Cup-winning coach Rahul Dravid. India’s last tour of Sri Lanka for a bilateral white-ball series was in July 2021, under Dravid’s coaching, where India won the ODI series 2-1 and Sri Lanka took the T20I series by the same margin.
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.
