Suryakumar Yadav discusses relationship with Gautam Gambhir ahead of Sri Lanka series

With the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka, India begins a new era in cricket. Fresh off their victory at the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024, the team now features new leadership with Suryakumar Yadav as captain and Gautam Gambhir as head coach.

Suryakumar Yadav shared his thoughts on this new phase and his relationship with Gambhir. He also highlighted their connection from their early days in the IPL.

"From 2014 till now, it has been exactly 10 years. In 2018, I joined another [IPL] franchise and he joined another franchise. But we used to talk regularly about the game. When he used to play with another team, I used to play with him. We used to discuss the game to see if we could do better in that match," Yadav said.

"The learning has been going on since six years when I was not with him. This bond is always special. We have talked a lot, but not so much. But he knows my body language. When I see his body language, I know what he wants to say to me. And what I want to say to him. When I say no, he understands what he wants and what I want. So this bond is very special between coach and captain. I am very excited for this journey ahead of me," he further added.

India’s team has undergone significant changes with the retirements of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja. However, Suryakumar is confident in the new players. 

"It will be difficult to fill the shoes, but obviously people have practiced so much, new players have come, they are already doing well when they play franchise cricket," he concluded.