India's Squads For SL Series: SKY vs Pandya T20I Captaincy Race, Rohit's Return - All We Know So Far

Indian men’s cricket team’s Gautam Gambhir-era has well and truly gotten underway with an eventful build-up to the squad announcements for their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. Plenty has happened since Gambhir officially took over the charge as the India head coach following the end of Rahul Dravid’s contract.

While India did play in the five-match T20I series following their World Cup triumph but it was under the captaincy of Shubman Gill and interim coach VVS Laxman.

The tour was looked upon as a stage for India to give chances to the youngsters and for the players on the fringes as the team management starts building for the future. Sri Lanka tour, where India will play three T20Is and as many ODIs, will be another opportunity for the next generation to build on their claim and for Gambhir to give an indication how he wants to shape the team in his image.

Here’s a recap of all major events leading up to India’s SL tour squads announcement

Gambhir Takes Over as Head Coach

On July 9th, nearly two weeks after India became the T20 world champions, BCCI officially confirmed that Gambhir will be the new head coach.

“I have always taken pride while donning the Indian jersey during my playing days and it is going to be no different when I take up this new role,” Gambhir said in a statement adding he’s looking forward to working closely with the BCCI, VVS Laxman (Head of NCA) and ‘most importantly’ players.

Seniors to be Rested?

The big three of Indian cricket – Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah – were expected to continue with their break following the World Cup. However, it has now emerged that one of them could feature on the tour with Rohir most likely to lead the team in the ODI series.

Gambhir Wanted First-choice Stars to Play All Formats

Amidst this, an old video of Gambhir talking about how a player deemed ‘good enough’ for all three formats must never let go of the chance to play for his country unless there’s an injury. The two-time World Cup winner said he doesn’t believe in ‘injury management’ and feels players, at the peak of their game, should be available to play all formats.

Hardik Pandya vs Suryakumar Yadav for T20I Captaincy

Though the announcement has been delayed by a couple of days with reports claiming that there’s a debate over who should lead India in T20Is now that Rohit has retired, Pandya, who led the team when Rohit wasn’t playing, seems to be the obvious choice as he was also the vice-captain at the T20 World Cup.

However, Suryakumar Yadav has been considered a viable option too, and could end up pipping Pandya for the top job should Gambhir have his way. Interesting times for Indian cricket!

Pandya’s Message Amidst Captaincy Debate

There have been unconfirmed reports that Pandya’s history with fitness is the primary concern over him being named full-time T20I captain. The allrounder, who played a prominent role in India’s World Cup win, has shared a before and after image of him on Instagram showing his recovery from the freak ankle injury during the 2023 ODI World Cup.

“Was a difficult journey after the freak 2023 WC injury but well worth the effort with the T20 WC win. The results come as long as you put in the effort. Hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. Let’s all try our best and work on our fitness,” Pandya wrote. A subtle message to the selectors?

Gambhir’s Candidates for Support Staff Rejected?

Reports also indicate that the BCCI isn’t on the same page with Gambhir regarding his choices for the support staff. Gambhir has recommended the likes of Vinay Kumar, and Lakshmipathy Balaji as the options for the bowling coach’s role while Abhishek Nayar as the batting coach. Even former South Africa pacer Morne Morkel is also reported to have been among Gabmhir’s suggestions but BCCI has rejected them all.