Gautam Gambhir presided over a practice session for the first time as the head coach of the Indian Cricket Team on Tuesday, July 23. The Men in Blue are currently in Sri Lanka, set to play three T20Is and as many ODIs in the Island Nation.
Gambhir, recently appointed India’s new head coach, replacing Rahul Dravid, reached Pallekele via Colombo from Mumbai on Monday along with his players and support staff. On Tuesday, he watched new T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav and his other teammates kick-starting their preparations for the T20I series, which begins with the first game on July 27.
The T20I is set to undergo a major transition phase after Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja retired from the format following India’s triumphant T20 World Cup 2024 campaign last month. Apart from Suryakumar being announced as the leader, Shubman Gill has replaced Hardik Pandya as the vice-captain. Gambhir will be looking to work in unison with Suryakumar and Shubman to help India continue their dominance in T20I cricket.
There are also quite a few young and exuberant players who will look to make a mark against the Charith Asalanka-led Sri Lankan team and seal their spots in the Indian T20I setup.
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The Indian team is coming off a successful tour of Zimbabwe earlier this month. In the five-match T20I series, an inexperienced team, led by Shubman, lost the first game but bounced back strongly to win the next four. Quite a few players from that side have been retained, with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Abhishek Sharma being some of the surprise exclusions. Also, Mukesh Kumar, the joint-highest wicket-taker on that tour, has been left out.
On the other hand, Sri Lanka will look to return strongly after their first-round exit in the T20 World Cup 2024. The Sri Lankan players have been in T20 mode for quite some time as they were involved in the recently concluded Lanka Premier League.