Surya or Pandya: Who will be India's captain for Sri Lanka's T20 series?

Who Will Be the New Captain for India in T20s? Check Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav's captaincy record ahead of India team announcement for Sri Lanka T20I series here

With India set to embark on a new journey under the leadership of Gautam Gambhir as head coach, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has yet to announce the new captain for the T20 Internationals.

Appointing Shubman Gill as a temporary captain was a stopgap arrangement made by the BCCI, given that the new head coach had just been unveiled and there was a jubilant atmosphere in the board after India's T20 World Cup triumph.

Since the conclusion of the T20 World Cup, captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja have retired from the shortest format of the game.

 

Who Will Be the New Captain for India in T20s?
 

With selectors set to announce the India team for the Sri Lanka series this week, the competition for the T20 International captaincy is between two Mumbai Indians players, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya.

If reports are to be believed, due to Pandya's injury-prone body, the selectors might choose Suryakumar as the India T20 captain for now.

Suryakumar Yadav's Captaincy Record
 

Surya led India just after the conclusion of the 2023 ODI World Cup, when Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya were not available for selection.

As captain: Won the series against Australia 4-1 and leveled the three-match series in South Africa 1-1.

• Total matches as captain: 8
• Won: 5
• Lost: 2
• No result: 1

Why Hardik Pandya might not get India's T20 captaincy?

The case for Hardik Pandya as India T20 captain gained momentum after his heroic spell in the T20 World Cup final. He was also Rohit's deputy in the T20 World Cup 2024, but his stakes have been on the decline after Gambhir got the head coach job.

With head coach Gautam Gambhir wanting the players to participate in tournaments across formats, the question remains whether Hardik Pandya is ready to play all formats.

Pandya has been India's number one all-rounder since his debut, but his fragile body has hindered his growth in international cricket.

In the last year, Pandya donned the national colours in the 2023 ODI World Cup before being ruled out due to injury, and in the 2024 T20 World Cup, where he defended 16 runs in the last over.

However, if reports are to be believed, Pandya has made himself unavailable for the ODIs in Sri Lanka.

Pandya's Captaincy Record in T20s

• Total matches: 16
• Won: 10
• Lost: 5
• Tied: 1

Pandya's strong record as captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL), where he led Gujarat Titans to glory in their inaugural season and to the finals in the next, may work in his favour.