The Gautam Gambhir era in the Indian cricket team (ICT) has commenced. While the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently appointed Gambhir as the head coach of the Indian team, on July 22 (Monday), he addressed his first press-conference as the head coach of the Indian team. Gambhir was also accompanied by chief selector Ajit Agarkar in what was a pre-departure press conference ahead of India's white-ball tour of Sri Lanka.
Along expected lines, the very first question itself posed to Agarkar was the reason behind picking Suryakumar Yadav as the captain ahead of Hardik Pandya who was Rohit Sharma's deputy during their victiorious T20 World Cup 2024 campaign. Agarkar said: "A captain should be on the park more often than not."
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You Want A Captain Who Is Likely To Play All Matches: Agarkar
While describing Suryakumar as a "deserving candidate", Agarkar highlighted Hardik's past fitness concerns as one of the major reasons behind the selection committee gravitating towards SKY.
"He (Suryakumar Yadav) has got a good cricket brain. He is still one of the best T20I batters in the world. One of the main issues was, obviously, you want a captain who is likely to play all matches. I mean we think Suryakumar is a deserving candidate. We will see with time how he develops into the role," Agarkar said.
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"As regards to Hardik, he is still a very important player for us. We want him to be that player that he can be because those sorts of skillsets are very difficult to find, what he has. Fitness obviously has been a challenge for him over the last few years that makes it difficult for a head coach and us as selectors," he added.