Pallekele: India’s recently anointed Twenty20 International captain, Suryakumar Yadav, spoke candidly about his relationship with head coach Gautam Gambhir, who was one of his biggest supporters during his early Indian Premier League (IPL) days with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) before the first T20I against Sri Lanka.

Gambhir led the squad throughout Suryakumar’s four-year spell with KKR, and the captain showed such trust in the batsman that he was the team’s deputy captain at one time.

India’s seven-match Twenty20 International (T20I) and three One-Day Internationals (ODI) tour to Sri Lanka starts on Saturday. After Rahul Dravid resigned as head coach earlier in July due to the ICC T20 World Cup victory in the West Indies, Gambhir took up his new role. This is his first assignment as head coach.

Suryakumar participated in 54 KKR games between 2014 and 2017. With a strike rate of over 131 and an average of 22.52, he amassed 608 runs in 41 innings, including one half-century. Gambhir was one of Suryakumar’s most important early allies, as shown by the fact that the batsman was once KKR’s deputy captain.

“Our bond (with him and Gambhir) has always been special,” Suryakumar said during a pre-match news conference.

It has been precisely ten years since 2014. Gambhir (the player) joined a different franchise in 2018, and I joined another [IPL] team. However, we used to discuss the game on a frequent basis. I used to play with him when he was on a different squad. To test whether we might do better in that match, we used to talk about the game.

“Since I wasn’t with him for six years, the learning has continued. This relationship is unique everytime. Not too much, but a lot has been discussed. But he is aware of my nonverbal cues. His body language tells me exactly what he wants to express to me. and what I’d want to tell him. He knows what I want and what he wants when I say no. coach and captain have a very strong relationship because of this. He finished by saying, “I am very eager for this trip ahead of me.

In addition, Suryakumar supported the next generation of Indian players to succeed stars like Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, and Virat Kohli, who all departed from Twenty20 International cricket after winning the ICC T20 World Cup in the USA and the Caribbean. Even while he admitted that it would be challenging to follow in the footsteps of these superstars, the younger players have a wealth of experience and excellent performances under their belts.

“Obviously, people have practiced so much, new players have come, and they are already doing well when they play franchise cricket,” Suryakumar said. “It will be difficult to fill the shoes.”

Additionally, they performed well in the games they represented India in. Thus, I’m certain that the three people who just took their position will succeed, the speaker said.

A three-match T20I series and a three-match ODI series will precede India’s trip to Sri Lanka. The T20I leg of the series will be held at the Pallekele International Stadium, while the 50-over matches will be held at the R Premadasa.

August 2, August 4, and August 7 are the dates of the three ODIs.

With new head coaches, both clubs will take the field. Legendary all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya has been appointed the Lankan Lions’ temporary head coach. Former Indian opener Gautam Gambhir, who succeeded T20 World Cup-winning coach Rahul Dravid, will be taking on his first coaching role.

In July 2021, India embarked on their last bilateral white-ball series trip to Sri Lanka, with Dravid leading the Shikhar Dhawan-led team. Sri Lanka won the T20I series by the same margin that India won the ODI series, 2-1.

T20I Squad for Sri Lanka Series: Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj; Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk).

The following players are in the ODI squad for the Sri Lanka series: Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, and Virat Kohli.