R Sridhar, the previous fielding coach for India, noticed Suryakumar’s debut in Twenty20 worldwide cricket in 2021 and is optimistic concerning the batsman’s potential to steer by instance due to his cool head and picked up nature.
“Surya has matured quite a bit from what I do know of him from the sooner days, after I was on the Nationwide Cricket Academy (NCA), the place he used to return as a younger athlete, who was very aggressive and really upbeat. However now, if you happen to see, he is way more mature. He is received a way more mellowed head on his shoulders, and he is an astute thinker of the sport.”
“I imply, he won’t have led many matches over franchise cricket, and even for India – he is led about eight video games. I bear in mind doing commentary in one of many India-Australia sequence, the place he did an amazing job. He additionally did a superb job in South Africa within the very quick rain-curtailed sequence which he captained.
“Thoughts you, captaincy is just not solely about main the crew on the sector. Captaincy is all about protecting your gamers in good area, even off the sector, having these proper conversations with them, and ensuring that each participant, who’s not simply solely within the squad, but in addition exterior the squad, on the perimeter of constructing it to the eleven, they’re additionally in good area, and so they’re additionally properly taken care of.
“So captaincy brings much more onto the desk for Surya. It’ll be difficult initially, however I feel Surya is somebody who’ll take to it like fish to water,” says Sridhar in an unique dialog with IANS, facilitated by Sony Sports activities Community.
When Suryakumar was named Mumbai’s captain for the 2014-15 home cricket season, it was his first style of management. Nevertheless, it was a lackluster interval, and rumors about his irascible persona resulting in indiscipline meant Suryakumar missed out on the Mumbai management place.
Mumbai restored Suryakumar as captain in 2019 after the calm and picked up man turned a brand new web page in his life, particularly when it got here to acquiring that India cap. From 2019 to 2021, he would captain Mumbai in 16 Twenty20 matches for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Sridhar thinks Suryakumar has what it takes to steer India as captain, however he wants to focus on selecting the most effective enjoying eleven and speaking properly.
“He is received all of the wherewithal to be a profitable captain. However now that the captaincy is a full-time factor, with that comes extra strain, as a result of his communication needs to be extra spot on. He must know what mixture he wants. Clearly, he must gel with the brand new coach, Gautam Gambhir, who can also be a no-nonsense individual.”
Sridhar claims that Suryakumar benefited from enjoying for the nationwide crew underneath Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in addition to from being Gambhir’s vice captain for the Kolkata Knight Riders. “The truth that Surya is aware of Gautam Gambhir very properly from his days in KKR, earlier than 2017 and 2018, that ought to maintain him in good stead.”
“The truth that he is performed lots of cricket underneath Rohit, and to an extent, underneath Virat, ought to have been a great studying for him. It ought to have been a great internship for him, watching them, observing them, how they go about captaincy.
Usually, India vs. Sri Lanka matches can be low-key occasions, however there’s an air of intrigue as a result of either side have new captains and coaches for the Twenty20 Worldwide sequence. “That is what makes this sequence very thrilling I suppose, as a result of it is the start of a brand new chapter in Indian cricket. We should say this as a result of, particularly within the T20 format, not simply the coach is new, the captain is (additionally) new.
“We’re not going to be having Kohli, Rohit and Jadeja anymore on this specific format. So it opens up the chance for a lot of of our intern kids to sort of take the legacy ahead going forward within the subsequent T20 World Cup (which) is in India (in 2026).
“In order that they have a great two years to sort of gel and set a platform, play a sure model of cricket, and have a sure philosophy with which they may play this specific format. That’s what makes this sequence very attention-grabbing, as a result of that is the place the inspiration goes to be laid for that philosophy and imaginative and prescient,” concluded Sridhar.
