Before Suryakumar Yadav made a significant impact as a stellar player for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League (IPL), he had a brief yet influential tenure with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) starting in 2014. This period was marked by Gautam Gambhir’s exceptional leadership as the team captain, with Gambhir playing a pivotal role in signing the then-budding cricketer, Suryakumar. While the statistical outcomes of this acquisition were modest, the promising spark in Suryakumar’s unconventional stroke play, primarily seen batting lower in the order, was evident. Fast forward to 2018, and both players embarked on divergent career paths. After a significant six-year gap, they are now set to reunite in new roles: Suryakumar as the captain and Gambhir as the coach of India’s T20I team.
Addressing the media in a pre-series press conference, Yadav’s enthusiasm for his KKR days under Gambhir’s captaincy shone through. When quizzed about whether Gambhir regrets not fully exploiting Yadav’s potential during their time at KKR, Suryakumar’s response was jovial and optimistic.
“To abhi kar lenge potential use poora (then we’ll use the full potential now),” Suryakumar responded, breaking into laughter.
Reflecting on their past and the blossoming of their professional relationship, Suryakumar said, “Our bond has always been special. It’s been 10 years now since 2014. In 2018, we both went to different franchises but we kept in touch, talking regularly about the game. When we played for different teams, we would discuss the game, of how we could have done better. The learning has been going on even when we were not together. This bond is special. It’s been 2-3 days and we have been talking. We haven’t spoken much but he understands me from my body language now. I understand from his body language what he wants to tell me. Half the times he understands even when I don’t say anything. This bond is special between a coach and a captain. I’m very excited for the journey ahead, let’s see what happens.”
Despite popular belief that Hardik Pandya was the prime candidate to succeed Rohit Sharma as captain, Suryakumar’s elevation to T20I captaincy came as a surprise to many. Suryakumar did stand in as captain during India’s tour of South Africa last season with Pandya unavailable, yet his official appointment raised eyebrows. Interestingly, Suryakumar was quick to acknowledge Pandya’s indispensable contribution to the team.
“Hardik’s role has always remained the same, and even now it’ll be the same. He is an important player for the team.
. Hopefully, he’ll continue to perform for the team the way he performed during the World Cup. The environment in the dressing room has been great. The brand of cricket that we played in the last T20 World Cup, we want to continue playing that way. Three players have retired. It will be difficult to fill their shoes. But they have practised so much and played so much, they have done well in franchise cricket as well as for India.”
One of the more discussed points regarding India’s white-ball team selection for the Sri Lanka series is the inclusion of Riyan Parag. Although generally expected to be part of the T20I squad, his selection in the ODI side sparked divided opinions. Parag’s T20I selection itself was under scrutiny, given the exclusion of players like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhishek Sharma, who showcased outstanding performances in Zimbabwe earlier that month. However, Suryakumar held a strong belief in Parag’s abilities and praised his progress, especially given the social media trolling he endured until his breakthrough performance in the 2024 IPL season.
“Trolling happens everywhere, not just in cricket, it happens in every sport. How a sportsman deals with it is important. I rate him very highly. I had said this before the IPL as well, when I had met him at NCA when both of us had gone there for rehab, I had told him that there is an ‘X-Factor’ in him. He just needs to sideline all the distractions and focus on this (his cricket). He realized that in the IPL, he was quite a different player in the last 3-4 years. I’m really happy for him. He has been performing well in domestic cricket as well for the last two years. Domestic cricket sets a good base, it’s a good platform. It helps you understand how to score runs later in your career, in international cricket. It helps in that way. But I’m really happy that he’s here with the team.”
The camaraderie and mutual respect between Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir indeed set a positive tone for what many hope to be a successful stint for India’s T20I side. As Suryakumar embarks on this new chapter of his career with excitement and optimism, fans and cricket enthusiasts eagerly anticipate the results of this remarkable reunion.