The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced Suryakumar Yadav’s removal from the India T20 International captaincy and also from the squad ahead of the next two tours to Ireland and England starting later this month.
The move is the end of Suryakumar’s captaincy stint that started from late 2024 after Rohit Sharma retired from the format after India’s T20 World Cup victory in the West Indies under Gautam Gambhir, who is still coaching the team.
A senior BCCI official said that though Suryakumar has produced results, including leading India to a T20 World Cup triumph at home, the time for change was right because of issues with his batting form.
The senior official also said that the decision was taken keeping in view the future of the T20 cricket team.
Everyone felt the time was ripe to move on, as Surya’s team had won the T20 World Cup under his leadership, but in his present form, it was felt that the time had come to move on, the official said.
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The performance Suryakumar has shown in the field with the bat has been a matter of worry for the last two years.
He was only able to make 270 runs in 13 innings during the recently concluded IPL season, with a half-century versus the Rajasthan Royals as his only major hit.
The BCCI has yet to find a replacement, and will make a new choice after more discussions between the BCCI’s selection committee, the coaching staff and the board have taken place.
Indian team with a new captain will face two T20 Internationals in Ireland and then face England in a five-match series.
Both series will be played in the shortest formats under a new leadership. It will be interesting to note what direction the Indian T20 cricket team will take in the coming days.
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