World Champions India Eyes New Heights with Suryakumar Yadav and Gautam Gambhir

On Saturday, the well-known South Asian rivals India and Sri Lanka will play a limited-overs series, beginning with three T20 Internationals. India’s newly formed coach-captain duo of Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar Yadav will try to make an immediate impression against a Sri Lankan team in disarray.

As India’s head coach, two-time World Cup winner Gambhir is leading the team, while Suryakumar, one of the top batsmen in the format, is leading the T20Is.

Gambhir replaces the hugely popular Rahul Dravid. Gambhir has established his coaching name in the IPL hallways with three title wins with Kolkata Knight Riders – twice as captain and once as mentor.

Given that the squad led by his predecessor advanced to the final of each ICC event in its most recent edition, the new coach has his work cut out for him.

The players will find Gambhir to be a different coach to work with due to his toughness and intense approach; they will also need to adjust to Suryakumar’s new T20I captaincy.

Suryakumar’s promotion was somewhat unexpected because he beat out Hardik Pandya for the position. His relative lack of experience as captain was also disregarded by the selectors.

When it came to pressing the reset button on the T20I side, Ajit Agarkar and associates made it clear that they were looking for a captain who was on the park “more often than not” and who followed “dressing room feedback”.

The selectors will have plenty of time to rebuild the team, which has also seen a significant loss of talent, given the next T20 World Cup will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka in 2026.

The change comes after India won the World Cup last month and veteran players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirements from T20I cricket.

Shubman Gill, the young batting sensation and vice-captain in the white-ball formats, sees this as an opportunity to solidify his spot on the team. Others, including Riyan Parag, Rinku Singh, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, will also be looking to do the same.

While Axar Patel, Jadeja’s like-for-like replacement, slots in admirably in the eleven, India also has wealth in the all-around category because they have access to Pandya, Shivam Dube, and an excellent Washington Sundar.

Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj will have the opportunity to take advantage of the favorable conditions at the Pallekele International Stadium, where the surface tends to help pace and bounce, because Jasprit Bumrah has been rightfully rested from this trip.

According to the same measure, Sri Lanka will be severely weakened due to the absence of two of their more seasoned bowlers, Dushmantha Chameera (bronchitis and lung infection) and injured Nuwan Thushara broken finger.

Asitha Fernando and Dilshan Madushanka, who took five wickets in the final ODI World Cup match against India and Sri Lanka, have been recruited by the hosts as substitutes.

Sri Lanka, the 2014 T20 World Cup winners, are navigating difficult times after losing in the first round of the previous competition.

Following the disaster in the Americas, captain Wanindu Hasaranga, coach Chris Silverwood, and consulting coach Mahela Jayawardene tendered their resignations.

“Matara Marauder” Sanath Jayasuriya has been named temporary coach of Sri Lanka. He has encouraged his team to capitalize on India’s lack of established players, although he is well aware of how short his team is on consistent performances.

Jayasuriya believes that the current Sri Lankan side would turn things around in the next two years, but given their weaknesses in all sectors, they do not inspire confidence.

Charith Asalanka, a dynamic batsman, has been appointed captain as Sri Lanka, like India, ventures into unknown territory in an attempt to turn around their fortunes.

Given the wealth of talent in the ranks, which includes the feisty former captain Dasun Shanaka, Kusal Perera, Kusal Mendis, and the seasoned Dinesh Chandimal, Sri Lanka should feel optimistic about turning the tide when playing at home.

Teams (from):

India: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, 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.

Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal, Avishka Fernando, Kusal Mendis (wk), Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Perera, Charith Asalanka (c), Wanindu Hasaranga, Kamindu Mendis, Dasun Shanaka, Chamindu Wickramasinghe, Binura Fernando, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Matheesha Pathirana, Maheesh Theekshana, Dunith Welalage.

Match starts at 7:00pm IST.

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