Suryakumar Yadav Talks About His Special Bond with Coach Gautam Gambhir Before Sri Lanka Tour

Pallekele, Sri Lanka, July 26: India’s new T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav, shared his thoughts on his relationship with head coach Gautam Gambhir. Suryakumar and Gambhir have a history together from their time at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

India’s tour of Sri Lanka starts with a T20I on Saturday and includes three T20Is and three ODIs. Shubman Gill will be the vice-captain for both formats. This tour marks Gambhir’s first assignment as head coach after taking over from Rahul Dravid, who stepped down following India’s ICC T20 World Cup win in the West Indies.

In a video shared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Suryakumar reminisced about playing under Gambhir’s captaincy in 2014 and how their relationship has strengthened over the years. He said, “This relationship (with Gambhir) is very special because when I went in IPL 2014, I played under him for KKR. It was special because I got the opportunity to play for that franchise. My relationship is still strong with him. But he knows how I work, what my mindset is when I come to practice with him, and how he tries to work. As a coach, it is all about that lovely relationship we have and very excited to see how it goes forward.”

Suryakumar played 54 matches for KKR from 2014 to 2017, scoring 608 runs in 41 innings. Gambhir was a significant support system for him, and Suryakumar even served as KKR’s vice-captain.

On being a leader, Suryakumar said he enjoys the responsibility and has learned a lot from other captains. He added, “It is a good feeling and a great responsibility also.”

Suryakumar also shared a valuable lesson from cricket: “I think the most important thing I have learnt from this sport is how humble you are after achieving something or even after when you are not doing well. That is one thing that I have learned. When you do something on the ground, you have to leave it on the ground and when you go off the field, that is it. This is not your life. It is just part of your life. So you cannot be… When you are doing well, you stay on the top and when you’re not doing well, you are underground. That is one thing which I feel you should not do as a sportsman.”

Suryakumar led India in seven T20Is last year, winning five matches and losing two. The tour of Sri Lanka will start with a three-match T20I series, followed by a three-match ODI series. The T20Is will be held at Pallekele International Stadium, and the ODIs at R Premadasa Stadium on August 2, 4, and 7.

Both teams have new head coaches. Sanath Jayasuriya is the interim head coach for Sri Lanka, while Gambhir is starting his first assignment as India’s head coach. India’s last tour of Sri Lanka was in July 2021, where they won the ODI series 2-1 but lost 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.

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.