Mumbai: There’s not much riding on the upcoming six-match limited overs bilateral series against Sri Lanka in commercial terms, but in more ways than one, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee has put in place a few new markers in the leadership group of India’s squads named on Thursday; markers that have the definite touch of new head coach Gautam Gambhir.

The man taking the biggest leap is Suryakumar Yadav, who has been named as India’s new T20I captain. On the receiving end is Hardik Pandya, who, at the same time last year, was the favourite to lead India in the 2024 T20I World Cup. But now, he finds himself back as only a player. On the other hand, Shubman Gill has appointed as deputy to Surya in T20Is and to Rohit Sharma in ODIs. Hardik has opted out of the ODI matches.

At 42, Gambhir is the youngest to become India’s head coach. Having played with many of the players till as recently as 2018, he has had a ring-side view. Surya was once a vice-captain to Gambhir when he played for KKR. The 360-degree star went on to become a T20 batting powerhouse for Mumbai Indians.

Gambhir, it is learnt, has leaned on Surya as his captain-of-choice over Hardik. With Surya having limited leadership experience, his tactical moves and man-management skills will be closely watched. The 2026 T20 World Cup is still far away and that will give him time to find his bearings as a leader.

HARDIK OUT OF FAVOUR

Hardik was monitored in a similar manner too. In the end, his disastrous season as captain for MI saw many lose faith in his abilities.

On the face of it, a poor IPL campaign shouldn’t influence India selection. But his leadership skills didn’t inspire confidence. It didn’t help that “he could never win the dressing room at MI and many felt he couldn’t be trusted to rally the national team together,” said to an official in the know.

Hardik was leading many India heavyweights at MI which included Rohit, the Indian captain he replaced, Surya himself and pace ace Jasprit Bumrah.

When Rahul Dravid agreed to stay on as India coach for this year’s T20 World Cup, that was after knowing he would be working with Rohit as captain. A decision to make Rohit the captain over Hardik was made after the all-rounder’s fitness status remained uncertain.

It is understood that Hardik’s constant struggle to remain injury-free for a long stretch of time went against him too. When the selectors communicated with Hardik on Tuesday that they were looking beyond him for captaincy, he was also told that they still looked at him as a big asset as a fast-bowling all-rounder.

In the same vein, ‘Hardik was also reminded by Gambhir on the call, that he was looking forward to see him bowl his full quota in ODIs’, according to the official.

A note with the BCCI press release says, they will ‘monitor player availability and participation in the upcoming domestic cricket season’. Hardik would be expected to turn up for Baroda in the Vijay Hazare ODIs to prove his form and fitness for next year’s Champions trophy.

As a T20 all-rounder, Hardik is still the best in the country. “It would have been embarrassing to not make him captain but a deputy, when the selection committee didn’t trust his leadership enough,” a BCCI official said.

One for the future

All this means an opportunity for Gill, who is being groomed as a future all-format leader. That’s also the reason why the 24-year-old is being given a long rope in T20Is, even though he is yet to consistently discover the high-scoring tempo required for the shortest format.

His young state team-mate Abhishek Sharma was unlucky to miss out. The southpaw scored a hundred recently against Zimbabwe and forged a dynamic opening partnership with Travis Head at Sunrisers Hyderabad.

There are others who have been given a chance to establish themselves across both white-ball formats, like Axar Patel picked over Ravindra Jadeja in ODIs. With Hardik missing, Mumbai pace all-rounder Shivam Dube gets a chance to show a greater range in ODIs.

Off-spin all-rounder Washington Sundar has done enough against Zimbabwe to be picked in both the limited overs squads for Sri Lanka.

A big mover in the ranks is Assam and Rajasthan Royals’ middle-order hitter Riyan Parag who has been picked in both the white-ball squads. Harshit Rana, who impressed with Kolkata Knight Riders under Gambhir’s watch, gets a look-in in ODIs with Bumrah resting.

After a long time, the selectors have gone for two left-arm seamers in both the squads in Arshdeep Singh and Khaleel Ahmed.

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal expectedly loses out after struggling to make it to India’s playing eleven in the T20 World Cup while Kuldeep Yadav is a surprise exclusion from the T20 team with a clear thrust on all-rounders.

With Virat Kohli making himself available for the ODI matches, the Sri Lanka series will mark his much-anticipated coming together with former Delhi and India teammate Gambhir. As reported earlier, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer are back in the ODI mix.

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