In a wave of nostalgia and excitement, Suryakumar Yadav expressed his enthusiasm about reuniting with Gautam Gambhir, this time in India’s T20I setup where the duo has taken on the roles of captain and coach respectively. Before Suryakumar became a stalwart for the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, his career took off with a stint at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) starting in 2014. Gautam Gambhir, who was then the captain of KKR, played a significant role in Suryakumar’s initial acquisition by the franchise. While Suryakumar’s statistical output during his years at KKR wasn’t extraordinary, his unconventional yet promising stroke play marked him as a player to watch.
By 2018, both men had charted different paths in their careers. Suryakumar moved to Mumbai Indians and established himself as one of the premier batsmen in the league, whereas Gambhir moved towards mentoring roles post-retirement. After a six-year hiatus, they find themselves reunited, seeking to drive India’s T20I fortunes forward.
Reflecting on his KKR days, Suryakumar shared a lighthearted and jovial anecdote during the pre-series press conference. When questioned if Gambhir had any regrets about not fully utilizing his potential at that time, Suryakumar laughed and remarked in Hindi, “To abhi kar lenge potential use poora (then we’ll use the full potential now).”
Suryakumar’s bond with Gambhir goes beyond the cricket field. “Our bond has always been special,” Suryakumar elaborated. “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,” he added. “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.”
The ascent of Suryakumar to T20I captaincy caught many by surprise. Hardik Pandya was widely expected to take over the role after Rohit Sharma’s tenure, especially after Hardik led the squad as a stand-in captain during India’s tour of South Africa last season when Suryakumar was unavailable. Despite the unexpected turn in captaincy, Suryakumar was quick to emphasize the irreplaceable value that Pandya brings to the side.
Suryakumar commented, “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 practiced so much and played so much, they have done well in franchise cricket as well as for India.”
One of the focal points in India’s white-ball squad selection for the Sri Lanka series has been the inclusion of Riyan Parag. While many anticipated Parag’s selection for the T20I squad due to his impressive IPL season, his inclusion in the ODI side sparked divided opinions, especially given the non-selection of players like Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhishek Sharma, who had noteworthy performances in Zimbabwe.
Suryakumar, however, was full of praise for Parag’s development, particularly applauding his resilience amid social media criticism. The last IPL season was a turnaround for Parag as he took on significant batting responsibilities for Rajasthan Royals alongside Sanju Samson. Parag has also been a steady performer in the domestic circuit for Assam.
“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,” Suryakumar stated. “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 realised 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,” concluded Suryakumar.
As India gears up for the series, the focus will be on this promising reunion and the excitement and potential it brings to the T20I side. The cricketing world will be keenly watching how the dynamic between Suryakumar and Gambhir translates into on-field success.