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Swashbuckling batter Suryakumar Yadav on Friday expressed his delight at being appointed captain of the Indian T20 side for the tour of Sri Lanka, saying the last few weeks have been "nothing short of a dream". In a heartfelt post, Suryakumar thanked everyone for keeping faith in him and for receiving plenty of support in recent times. The 33-year-old Suryakumar succeeded Rohit Sharma as India's captain in the shortest format ahead of flamboyant all-rounder Hardik Pandya. "Thank you so much for outpouring love, support and best wishes from you. Last few weeks have been nothing short of a dream and I am truly grateful," Suryakumar wrote on Instagram. "Playing for the country is the most special feeling that I will never be able to describe in words. This new role brings with it, a lot of responsibility, excitement and enthusiasm. I hope to keep receiving your support and blessings. All fame reaches God, God is great," Suryakumar added. ...

India's newly-crowned T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav , was given the team's leadership responsibility on Thursday. Though it looked like Hardik Pandya would get the role, having been Team India's vice-captain under Rohit Sharma for a long time, the all-rounder's repeated fitness issues prompted the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee to look for an alternative. After Surya was named the team's skipper in the shortest format, an old video of his emerged on social media in which the new 'captain' could be seen talking about his mindset as a leader. Star Sports shared the clip on social media, in which Suryakumar spoke about his captaincy Matra. The video is from 2023 when Surya had led the Indian team to a 4-1 triumph against Australia and then a 1-1 draw against South Africa in the shortest format. "I am really enjoying this new role, enjoying spending time with everybody and we all have played together a lot either in fr...

The India vs Sri Lanka T20I and ODI series, which starts later this month, will begin a new chapter for Indian cricket. Under new head coach Gautam Gambhir , the side will embark on a mission to add to more laurels. The sides picked bear interesting looks with the biggest change being the T20I captaincy. After Rohit Sharma retired from the format after the T20 World Cup 2024 win, it was thought that designated vice-captain Hardik Pandya would be promoted as the skipper.  Instead, Suryakumar has been named the captain while Pandya is not even the vice-captain. While Pandya's fitness issues has largely been seen as the reason behind the captaincy snub, a report in Indian Express has claimed that the scales got tilted in Yadav's favour because of players' trust.   The report claimed that the 'feedback' that BCCI received was that players 'trusted Yadav more than Pandya' and were comfortable working under him. The selection meeting that went on for several ...

Star India batter Smriti Mandhana opened up on her mindset before the start of the Women's Asia Cup 2024 and said that she just plays 'according to the merit of the ball'. In the T20 format, Mandhana has played 136 matches and 131 innings, where she scored 3320 runs at an average of 28.13 and a strike rate of 121.83. The defending champions, India, will kickstart their journey towards a record-extending eighth Asia Cup title when they meet arch-rivals Pakistan at Dambulla on Friday. Speaking on Star Sports, Mandhana said it is easier to bat in the second inning since a team will get the target, which makes it easier for them to calculate the risk. "My mindset is just to play according to the merit of the ball. Sometimes you bat first or you bat second. Definitely, when you bat second, you have that score in front of you, and you can calculate your risks, and you can go for it. In the first innings, I feel in T20, it's a bit of a disadvantage that you don't kn...

One of the most iconic cricketers of all time, Virat Kohli became a big talking point on social media after veteran Indian spinner Amit Mishra shared some scintillating revelations from the Indian Premier League. Mishra, who plays for Lucknow Super Giants, suggested that Kohli has changed a lot over the years, with "fame and power" bringing about a big shift in his personality. As Mishra's comments triggered a huge debate on social media, Punjab Kings star Shashank Singh shared a brilliant story from his interaction with Kohli, that truly showcases the personality the latter has. During an interview, Shashank revealed that Kohli stood for 40 minutes while discussing cricketing topics with him after an IPL match. The length to which the Royal Challengers Bengaluru star went to help a youngster like him, touched Shashank's heart. "He was standing, I was standing. We were standing for 40 minutes. I didn't even know when 40 minutes passed," Shashank Singh...

Indian cricket team is seeing winds of change after the 2024 T20 World Cup win. The side will now be guided by new head coach Gautam Gambhir . In the T20Is, Rohit Sharma , Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja will no longer play as Indian cricket enters a phase of transition. In the midst of this, India's tour of Sri Lanka (three T20Is and three ODIs) holds extra significance for a number of reasons. This will be Gambhir's first assignment as India coach and the sides picked for the two series may give an indication on what lies ahead.  Earlier, it was widely reported that Hardik Pandya will be the captain for the T20I series. After the 2022 T20 World Cup, Pandya was seen as the long-term choice for India's T20I captaincy. However, situation changed and Rohit was made the captain for the T20 World Cup. But now, with Rohit retired from T20Is, Pandya - designated vice-captain for the 2024 T20 World Cup - was thought to be the automatic successor as India's T20I captain.  ...

The Gautam Gambhir coaching era in Indian cricket is just about to start. Right from the time BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced that the World Cup-winning cricketer will be the next head coach of the Indian cricket team, anticipation has been rising. Gambhir has been known as someone who can guide a bunch of youngsters to glory and his success with Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL shows that. His first assignment as the Indian cricket team's head coach starts with a tour of Sri Lanka where India will play the T20I and ODI series. Most of the seniors who featured in the T20 World Cup 2024 are expected to be rested from the ODIs or have retired from the T20Is. The team combination will be impressive with the squad announcement coming soon. Ahead of the announcement, the official broadcaster of the World Cup, Star Sports, posted a video of Gautam Gambhir from 2023 where he speaks about ODI cricket and makes some interesting observations. "First you need to identify players, wh...