The Gautam Gambhir Era: All The Major Changes In ICT At The Onset Of A New Phase

The T20 World Cup win by India, after a long wait of 17 years, marked the onset of a new phase for the ICT. Senior players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirements from the shortest format, making way for the younger lot to join the proceedings. Meanwhile, Gautam Gambhir stepped into the shoes of Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the Indian team after Dravid’s tenure came to an end. The upcoming tour of India to Sri Lanka will be Gambhir’s first project as the head coach. Gambhir, along with chief selector Ajit Agarkar, has already made waves with the team selection for the series. Previously perceived to be just another bilateral series, India’s tour of Sri Lanka now has many eyes set on it to see how the newly formed team will fare under the watch of Gautam Gambhir.

Making Waves As The Head Coach: Major Changes In The ICT Under Gautam Gambhir

The most shocking aspect after Gambhir took over the head coach position was the appointment of Suryakumar Yadav as the T20 captain of India. Yadav, an instrumental player in India’s World Cup win, surprisingly, was chosen over the likes of Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant to lead the team. In a press conference ahead of the Sri Lanka tour, Gambhir and Agarkar cited the reasons behind Yadav’s selection. Pandya, though a key performer, has a record of consistent injuries. Upon selection, the injury-induced absence of Pandya could have proved unstable for ICT. Thus, Yadav turned out to be a better prospect for the captaincy position. However, T20 is the only format provided to Suryakumar Yadav as the explosive batter has been omitted from the ODI squad.

With a recent World Cup win, ICT has a relaxing window to test different combinations. However, from the looks of it, Shubman Gill an Yashasvi Jaiswal are leading the race to fill in for the Ro-Ko void in the team. Moreover, the squad has made space for young IPL sensations like Riyan Parag and Harshit Rana. Now, it's up to see if the young talents can replicate their IPL performance at the international level.

Shubman Gill In For A Long Run: Positioned As The Next All-Format Captain Of India

In another head-turning move, the 24-year-old opening batter, Shubman Gill, was announced as the Indian vice-captain. The Gujarat Titans captain was named the vice-captain of India for both the ODI and T20 formats. The youngster trumped Pandya and KL Rahul to hold the position. The reason behind his selection is a strategic move extended by the BCCI.

Agarkar and Gambhir believe Gill to be a key performer for India across formats. Moreover, his young age puts him in a comfortable position to emerge as the next all-format captain of India. The duo explained that Rohit Sharma, still being the ODI captain of India, can effectively groom Shubman Gill for the position. Meanwhile, Gill can learn the captaincy intricacies in the shortest format as the vice-captain to Suryakumar Yadav. The move assures that Shubman Gill is in for a long run in the ICT.

India’s T20I squad for the Sri Lanka Tour

Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj.

India’s ODI squad for the Sri Lanka Tour

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.