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Team India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav on Tuesday, January 21 opened up on the vice-captaincy shuffle ahead of the upcoming limited-overs series against England. Speaking on the eve of the opening T20I of the white-ball series, the Mumbai batter threw light on the leadership role after Axar Patel was handed the vice-captaincy in absence of Shubman Gill.
Furthermore, Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has captained India through 2022 was snubbed for the leadership role. It is to be noted that Pandya last featured as the vice-captain in the T20 World Cup 2024 in the USA and Barbados, but was sidelined after Gautam Gambhir took over the reins from Rahul Dravid as Team India’s head coach.
Hardik Pandya part of leadership group: Suryakumar Yadav
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Suryakumar Yadav was firm when he called Hardik Pandya as a part of the leadership group. "I think the relationship with Hardik Pandya is really great. It's a long journey together. We know what we want for the team. Axar has been given added responsibility. But at the same time, Hardik is also part of the leadership team. It's like we have a lot of captains on the ground," SKY said.
Notably, the 34-year-old not extended his support towards Hardik Pandya, but also backed Gautam Gambhir for his coaching style despite the recent losses which have come under his rein as the Indian head coach. “His coaching style is simple and gives players a chance to express themselves. He knows what goes on in players’ minds,” Yadav said at the pre-match presser in Kolkata.
The Men in Blue will kickstart the limited overs series against England from Wednesday, January 22 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. After the first T20I, the two teams will travel to Chennai for the second T20I, followed by a match each in Rajkot, Pune and Mumbai.
India’s squad for T20I series against England
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (vc), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk).