Surya Kumar to play his first match as Captain
Journey of Surya Kumar Yadav- from Mumbai captain to Captain to Team India
Vinayak Samant, the coach of the Mumbai cricket team was concerned back in 2019. He noted that players didn’t value the “Mumbai cap” as much as before. Vinayak Samant provided a solution to this problem. What is the solution? Samant suggested making Surya Kumar Yadav the captain to instill more pride and commitment in the team.
Past experiences of Suryakumar as Captain
First Captainsy experience:
Suryakumar’s initial journey as a captain is filled with challenges. His previous stint as captain during the 2014-15 season ended on a bad note as he faced issues with teammates and his temperament.
With time Suryakumar showed changes in his behavior, he instilled more pride and commitment in the team and became more supportive towards the younger candidates.
Second chance of captaincy
Vinayak Samanat believed in Suryakumar that with time the player has matured and is now ready to handle the role of the captain again. The idea was discussed with Ajit Agarkar- the chief selector of the Indian Team.
Suryakuamr responded with confidence and expressed pride when asked about the captaincy, he has space to acknowledge his past mistakes and can lead better. This shows that he has grown calmer.
The short span of Mumbai Captaincy in 2019 has limited impact. His second captaincy stint was not for a long duration due to a setback faced during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, it was a group-stage exit that the team faced. The Covid-19 pandemic showed up along with his rise to the national team.
Suryakumar as captain of Team India (2024):
The role of captain this year for Suryakumar was quite unexpected. Suryakumar chosen to captain the Indian team is a rare decision because the player had never got a chance to showcase his captaincy skills in IPL.
There are still uncertainties about this decision as Surya has only led in a few matches.
The limited captaincy opportunities that have come his way, in 7 T20Is and an IPL game have all been in a makeshift capacity. That, if anything, is the limited source of reading on what Suryakumar’s latest version as captain is like.
In the years away from the leadership role, he had long runs playing under two successful captains – Rohit Sharma and Gambhir and earned their trust. In turn, both of them have also had a profound impact on his career, by his admission. In Rohit, he saw a leader, one who could direct his troops. And it’s his work that he wants to carry forward, play that brand of cricket, and guide Indian cricket forward. He specifies though ‘in my own style’.
Irrespective of what anyone assumed for all these years, the punt has been taken on him by the selectors and now as he takes the hottest seat in Indian cricket, the pen, the paper, and the ink are in his control to tell the tale of Suryakumar Yadav, the captain, 2.0.
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