Suryakumar Yadav Talks About His Special Bond with Coach Gautam Gambhir Before Sri Lanka Tour
Pallekele, Sri Lanka, July 27: India’s new T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav, shared his thoughts on his relationship with head coach Gautam Gambhir ahead of the first T20I against Sri Lanka. Gambhir, who was Suryakumar’s captain during his early IPL days with Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), has been a significant supporter of the batter.
During Suryakumar’s four-year stint with KKR, Gambhir’s faith in him was evident as he was made the vice-captain of the team. India’s tour of Sri Lanka, starting with the first T20I on Saturday, includes three T20Is and three ODIs. This tour marks Gambhir’s first assignment as head coach after taking over from Rahul Dravid earlier in July.
Suryakumar played 54 matches for KKR from 2014 to 2017, scoring 608 runs in 41 innings. Speaking at a pre-match press conference, Suryakumar said, “Our bond has always been special. From 2014 till now, it has been exactly 10 years. We used to talk regularly about the game, and this bond is always special.”
Suryakumar also expressed confidence in the young Indian players stepping up to fill the shoes of stars like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja, who retired from T20Is after the ICC T20 World Cup win. He acknowledged the challenge but believed in the new players’ abilities.
India’s tour of Sri Lanka will feature a three-match T20I series followed by a three-match ODI series. The T20Is will be held at the Pallekele International Stadium, while the ODIs will take place at the R Premadasa Stadium. Both teams will have new head coaches, with Sanath Jayasuriya as the interim head coach for Sri Lanka.
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.
Doubts Revealed
Suryakumar Yadav -: Suryakumar Yadav is an Indian cricketer who plays for the Indian national team. He is known for his aggressive batting style.
Coach Gautam Gambhir -: Gautam Gambhir is a former Indian cricketer who played as an opening batsman. He is now a coach and has also been a captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Sri Lanka Tour -: The Sri Lanka Tour refers to the Indian cricket team’s visit to Sri Lanka to play a series of matches. This time, they will play three T20I (Twenty20 International) matches and three ODI (One Day International) matches.
T20I -: T20I stands for Twenty20 International, a format of cricket where each team plays 20 overs. It is a shorter and faster version of the game.
IPL -: IPL stands for Indian Premier League, a professional Twenty20 cricket league in India where teams representing different cities compete.
Kolkata Knight Riders -: Kolkata Knight Riders, or KKR, is a team in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Gautam Gambhir was once the captain of this team.
ODI -: ODI stands for One Day International, a format of cricket where each team plays 50 overs. It is longer than T20I but shorter than Test matches.
Retired stars -: Retired stars refer to famous cricketers who have stopped playing professional cricket. New players often have to step up to take their place in the team.
