Suryakumar Yadav: ‘The same train will continue, only the engine has changed’

News”I’m going to play the way I’ve been playing so far, nothing will change,” says India’s new T20I captain

In the cliche, the new leader of any organisation comes in, shakes things up for the sake of stamping their identity on the outfit, springs new ideas, and puts themselves at the centre of all things. It happens often in TV comedies. Perhaps even more so in real life.

If we are to believe what he is saying, Suryakumar Yadav might not quite be that kind of leader though. Ahead of his first match as permanent captain (he has led India in seven matches in an interim capacity before), he promises to be a steady hand on the rudder. And why would he be anything else? India don’t have Rohit Sharma or Virat Kohli to call on any more in T20Is, but the majority of their World Cup-winning troupe is still intact, even if all of their stars are not on show in this series. Why try to fix what is not broken?

“The same train will continue,” Suryakumar said. “Only the engine has changed. The bogies (carriages) are the same.”

If this sounds jovial, it’s because India’s new captain has cause to be. His opposite, Charith Asalanka, is inheriting a team that is struggling to qualify for major global tournaments.

India, meanwhile, do not just have a World Cup-winning team, they also have an IPL-winning coach in Gautam Gambhir. He and Suryakumar have worked together before at Kolkata Knight Riders. Suryakumar described their connection in glowing terms.

“It’s now been 10 years since we’ve been working together, even though I went into a different franchise in 2018 and he also went to another. We used to keep in touch, talk about the game, even if we were in different teams. There have been learnings in the last six years too when I was not with him.

“Our bond is special, we have spoken about the upcoming three T20s, not in great detail but we know each other fairly well, we can read each other’s body language. There are some things he understands even if I don’t say them in words. There’s a special bond between a captain and coach. I’m very excited for this journey.”

Gambhir is not the only one who has sowed into the Suryakumar journey, however. Rohit has been his captain, both in the India side and in previous seasons of the IPL. Rohit has taught him plenty, Suryakumar said.

“What I’ve learned from Rohit is that he is always a leader on and off the field, not just as a captain, there’s a big difference in the two. A leader stands with his players and guides them about how to play T20s, how to win games, and that’s what I’ve learnt from him.”

On his own, explosive batting style, Suryakumar does not expect the captaincy to be any impediment.

“I don’t think my batting style will change, as such. There will be pressure, but pressure is always there, otherwise there’s no fun in playing. I’m going to play the way I’ve been playing so far. Nothing will change. It’s better for me, in fact, because I can tell the team openly what brand of cricket we have to play in T20s going forward. I’ll enjoy it more and can probably pass on the pressure on to others (laughs) and enjoy my game.”

Andrew Fidel Fernando is a senior writer at ESPNcricinfo. @afidelf