“Ex-New Zealand Star Questions Gautam Gambhir’s Captaincy Ability, Comments on Suryakumar Yadav”

Former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris believes that Suryakumar Yadav is a temporary captaincy option for India, with Gautam Gambhir aiming to groom Shubman Gill as the future long-term captain. After Rohit Sharma’s retirement from T20Is, Suryakumar Yadav, also known as SKY, was appointed India’s T20I captain by Gambhir. Shubman Gill was named vice-captain for both the T20Is and ODIs for the Sri Lanka tour, indicating a long-term plan.

“I think he’s a short-term option. I don’t think Gambhir has a natural captain amongst the players that he has right now,” Styris told India Today. “He’s buying himself time as to who will be the next long-term captain. Someone like Gill could do the job for 10 years for India, but he’s not quite ready right now, so I think it was a really smart decision to bring in someone with a bit more experience.”

At 33 years old, SKY is seen as a short-term leader, while Test and ODI captain Rohit Sharma is 37. Developing a long-term captain for the future, like Gill, seems to be a sensible move by Gambhir.

Gill captained India for the first time during the post-T20 World Cup tour to Zimbabwe, leading the team to a 4-1 series win. Earlier in the year, he captained the IPL franchise Gujarat Titans, finishing in 8th place.

Styris mentioned that despite the long-term vision, SKY could remain India’s T20I captain until the next T20 World Cup in 2026. “If he (SKY) does a decent enough job, then he might be the captain at the next T20 World Cup. And then after that, you can look at Gill or any other potential options around. But yeah, I think it’s a really clever decision,” said Styris.

India’s three-match T20I tour of Sri Lanka began on Saturday, July 27.