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New Delhi, May 23: Suryakumar Yadav’s future as India’s T20 captain could primarily be decided by head coach Gautam Gambhir as the national selection committee is not entirely convinced that he can make it to the team purely as a batter, according to a senior BCCI source.
Suryakumar, who was given the moniker SKY by Gambhir, has been struggling for form for a year now.
Within the BCCI, it is understood that the selection panel is in favour of moving on from him but the Board hierarchy also recognises that the coach-captain equation is integral to the dressing-room environment.
And Gambhir’s stated comfort with Suryakumar will make him a key figure in the final call.For close to a year now, Suryakumar’s place in the side has remained under scrutiny. At the moment, it is understood that all five selectors largely believe that the current T20 captain should be dropped from the XI.The view has been gaining ground ever since the emotional dust of the T20 World Cup triumph settled. The selectors, it is learnt, began seeing the future of Indian cricket through a wider lens instead of focussing on the glow of a single tournament.
“Initially the selectors thought that IPL would help Suryakumar regain form like last edition when he crossed 700 runs. But strangely there hasn’t been any technical course correction in his game.“Even the rookiest of pacers are just bowling straight hard lengths and he has no answer. Selectors don’t see him playing the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. It is as simple as that,” a senior BCCI source told PTI.
The numbers do make for a grim reading.Suryakumar managed only 210 runs from 12 innings at a strike-rate of 148 but, more alarmingly, averaged below 18 — statistics that have sharply contrasted with the aura surrounding one of modern T20 cricket’s most inventive batters.“If someone can’t earn his place as a batter, how can he be a leader? Hence it is difficult to retain him but Ajit (Agarkar) and Gautam need to be on same page,” the source said. (PTI)
