Team India head coach Gautam Gambhir claims that Suryakumar Yadav’s “calm leadership” and the fact that he “ticks every box” as captain make his demanding job a little easier in the T20 format.
Gambhir claimed that India is fortunate to have the swashbuckler as its captain for the current T20 World Cup in a brief video that Star Sports posted, though it did not say exactly when the coach spoke.
“Surya has made my life a lot easier in this format. He is a phenomenal leader of men, not by what he does on the field, not by how he is as a batsman or how his strokes are in this format,” Gambhir said.
“All that you can keep aside but the way he relates to the players, the way he talks to players, the way he spends time with players, how much he is relaxed on the field. Sometimes as coach, you can think about a lot of other things because you know he is going to keep the atmosphere pretty much calm that any coach can dream of,” he added.
Suryakumar played a brilliant part in India’s victory over the USA in their opening match of the showcase on Saturday. He hit a 49-ball 84 to save the team after a top-order collapse against a tenacious opposition. On Thursday, India are scheduled play Namibia in New Delhi.
“For me, I think Surya the player I can keep him aside but Surya the leader, for me I think he has ticked every box. He is just a phenomenal leader which has made my life a lot easier.
“And probably, it’s a great thing when you have someone like him leading the country because his heart is in the right place and he takes the right decision especially when things are under pressure,” Gambhir said in his lavish praise.
The 35-year-old Suryakumar, a member of India’s T20 World Cup-winning team two years ago, took over as captain weeks after the triumph following Rohit Sharma’s retirement from T20 Internationals.
