Gautam Gambhir, the newly appointed head coach of the Indian cricket team, commenced his tenure with the team’s first practice session in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, ahead of the upcoming T20I series against the hosts. The Indian contingent arrived in Colombo on Monday and subsequently traveled to Pallekele for the three-match T20I series, which will be followed by as many ODIs in Colombo.
Following Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the T20I format, Suryakumar Yadav has been entrusted with the captaincy for the series. Rohit will rejoin the team for the ODIs, along with Virat Kohli, who also announced his retirement from the shortest format of the game.
During the practice session, Gambhir was observed closely monitoring the players and providing valuable batting advice to wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson. The BCCI shared a video of the session on their official Twitter account, highlighting Gambhir’s active involvement in the team’s preparations.
Prior to the team’s departure for Sri Lanka, Gambhir addressed his first press conference alongside chief selector Ajit Agarkar. Agarkar explained the rationale behind appointing Suryakumar as the T20I captain over all-rounder Hardik Pandya.
“Suryakumar is one of the deserving candidates. He is one of the best T20 batters in the world. We wanted a captain who was likely to play all the games. We will see how he will do,” Agarkar stated.
Regarding Hardik Pandya, Agarkar emphasized his continued importance to the team. “As far as Hardik is concerned, he is still a very important player. And that’s what we want him to be. Fitness has been a challenge for him over the last few years…Then it becomes difficult for the coach or selectors. I think Surya has the necessary qualities to succeed as a captain,” he added.
The first T20I between India and Sri Lanka will be played in Pallekele on Saturday.
