Gautam Gambhir (L) and Suryakumar Yadav© AFP
Indian cricket team head coach Gautam Gambhir‘s inputs will play a major role in deciding Suryakumar Yadav‘s future as the T20I skipper, according to PTI. Although India will not be playing any T20Is against Afghanistan in the upcoming series, the selection committee, along with secretary Devajit Saikia, will reportedly hold an informal discussion over Suryakumar’s future. The star batter has come under a lot of fire due to his lack of form in the recent past, and a disappointing IPL 2026 campaign with Mumbai Indians has not helped his cause. The PTI report claimed that the selectors may discuss the T20I captaincy succession plan during the meeting in Guwahati on Tuesday.
The meeting has been called to select the squads for the one-off Test and the ODI series against Afghanistan. They are also expected to discuss the players in contention for the T20I matches on the Ireland and England tours. This will be the first selection meeting since India’s T20 World Cup win under Suryakumar’s captaincy.
The Indian Test team won’t have too many surprises but there could be serious conversations about Rishabh Pant’s future as red-ball format vice-captain when the national selectors meet in Guwahati on Tuesday to select Test and ODI squads for the series against Afghanistan.
It is understood that there is a growing feeling that the leadership role isn’t sitting well with the 28-year-old flamboyant keeper-batter as two seasons with Lucknow Super Giants offers a testimony.
It’s also not to be forgotten that Pant wasn’t tactically very astute when handed captaincy in the absence of Shubman Gill during a Test match against South Africa in Guwahati last November.
“Indian cricket simply cannot afford to lose a batting match-winner like Rishabh. He has won and set-up Test matches with his aggressive batting. There is a growing feeling among men who matter that whenever he has been entrusted with additional responsibility, he doesn’t seem to make good decisions while batting,” a BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
“Giving him an opportunity to play freely could be foremost on the minds of the selection committee.” Pant’s current form could also give sleepless nights to the selection committee as there remains a question mark about his place as second wicketkeeper in the ODI set-up behind KL Rahul.
With Dhruv Jurel, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan also in the ranks, Pant could feel the heat as far as 50-over set-up is concerned.
(With PTI inputs)
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