‘Suryakumar Yadav a short-term option’: Scott Styris' massive claim on Gautam Gambhir not getting a ‘natural captain’

Scott Styris suggested that new head coach Gambhir didn't get a natural skipper as Surya is just a short-term option for the Indian team.

Suryakumar Yadav has started his T20I captaincy regime on an impressive note with back-to-back wins over Sri Lanka to clinch the three-match series. The star batter has led India in the past against Australia and South Africa, but now things have changed; he is not an interim captain for a tour anymore; the selectors have picked him as a successor to Rohit Sharma, who led India to the 2024 T20 World Cup triumph. Surya was elevated to a big role after the arrival of Gautam Gambhir as head coach as the selection committee also received positive feedback about the Mumbai batter, and he pipped Hardik Pandya for the big role. Suryakumar has also been tagged as a T20I specialist by the selectors as he has been dropped out of the ODI team set-up for now.

India's head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Suryakumar Yadav started their tenures with a series win over Sri Lanka.(PTI)

However, former New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris suggested that new head coach Gambhir didn't get a natural skipper as Surya is just a short-term option for the Indian team.

"I think he's a short-term option. I don't think Gambhir has a natural captain amongst the players that he has right now," said Styris, speaking to India Today.

"He's buying himself time as to who will be the next long-term captain," continued Styris.

The selectors have also elevated Shubman Gill to the vice-captain's role in white-ball cricket to get him ready for the captaincy opportunity in the future.

Styric also feels that the BCCI is looking at Shubman as their future captain, but he is not ready at the moment, which is why they make a smart move by choosing Suryakumar as the captain for now.