A new era of India cricket will begin when India take on Sri Lanka at Pallekele, in the first of the 3-match T20I series starting today with Gautam Gambhir at the Indian dugout as the head coach, and Suryakumar Yadav addressing as the T20I captain.
With the bigwigs Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja making way for the younger crop all eyes will be on the youngsters as India takes it’s first step towards building the team that will defend the T20I crown at the 2026 T20 World Cup. Before the series begins in Sri Lanka, News18 CricketNext had a detailed conversation with former New Zealand allrounder and commentator for the series, Scott Styris, on several topics like the emergence of the youngsters in the T20I setup, the Gambhir effect on the team and keeping Pandya away from leadership, and a lot more.
Here are the edited excerpts of the interview:
The tour marks the post-Kohli, Rohit, Jadeja era in the T20Is. Is this a chance for the youngsters to step up and make a place for themselves, keeping in mind the mind in T20 World Cup in 2026?
I do. I commentated in the IPL and said it there that you have to have a succession plan and you have to make sure that you don’t have a lot of players retire at the same time. So, the way that the IPL went this year with a lot of huge scores in the way that the local Indian batsman played, I think right now is a perfect time to bring some of those young players in.
For example, I’m a little surprised that like an Abhishek Sharma after going to Zimbabwe, isn’t here. There are other guys like that I would love to have seen have the opportunities.
Because you want, in a perfect world, whatever country you’re supporting when you go to a World Cup, you want those players to have 20-40 games under their belt. So, there are no surprises anymore.
They know all the players, all the teams, what international cricket’s like. So, when they get to a World Cup, they’re ready to go. So, yeah, I agree it’s a big loss, losing Virat, losing Rohit, losing Jaddu [Ravindra Jadeja]. However, you’ve got such depth.
Now that Rohit stepped away, Hardik Pandya was looked at as the next leader. But the Indian management has put its money on Surya, citing Pandya’s frequent injury absence. What you will say about that?
I wouldn’t have personally made Hardik Pandya my captain either. I think that’s a smart choice solely for one reason, and that is as an allrounder. And skills wise he is India’s best allrounder. He is phenomenal. But you want him to be consistently fit. At the moment, how he’s in and out with his injuries, you know, bowling is really hard. It takes a lot out of you and your body. So sometimes, adding all the responsibility of captaincy is not necessarily a good thing because there’s just too much to do.
I’d love to see Hardik Pandya just concentrate on getting those skills right, batting and bowling. And then you can look at captaincy a little bit later.
With Suryakumar Yadav appointed as the new captain for India, what are your thoughts on his leadership potential?
On the appointment itself of Suryakumar Yadav, I’m sure they went through all the options. They would have had the options of the young players: Shubman Gill who is captain in the IPL, going to Hardik of course. And there may have been some other options.
But you know, maybe they just feel like right now, that long-term future captain option isn’t there. So the best thing to do is try and bridge that gap. And Suryakumar, we know how good he is as a player. He’s been under some very good captains with Rohit and then lately Hardik as well at Mumbai [Indians].
So give it to him for a year or two, maybe till the end of 2026 and then you can look for a longer-term captain once your team is a little more settled. So, you know, I like the thinking of the selectors. I think they’ve done a great job.
What would you say about the elevation of Shubman Gill as the vice-captain of the Indian team?
Yeah, I think there’s a sign that they believe he is perhaps the next long-term Indian captain, but they don’t want to again burden him with too much yet. He’s still finding his feet at the international level. We’ve seen him have some really good scores for India at the international level, but you’re after consistency.
So, just let him learn the experience thing by sitting in without having all that responsibility, but also allowing him time to grow his game because everyone knows the talent and skills he has. He should be the backbone of this Indian side for 10-plus years. Don’t throw him in the deep end just yet. So, I love that appointment again.
The T20I squad didn’t include Abhishek Sharma despite the fact that he got a hundred on his maiden tour in Zimbabwe. Whereas Riyan Parag continues to be a part of it and even makes it to the ODI squad. How will you explain these two cases?
I think middle-order batsmen are harder to find. Doesn’t matter whether you’ve got all the depth India has or whether you’re from New Zealand where we have very little depth. I think finding those consistent run scorers within the white ball in the middle order is hard. And that’s why Shivam Dube earned his right to be in this team.
That’s why we’ve seen Ryan Parag with his performances at the IPL. We all knew he had the talent, we were just looking for him to break out. Now that he has, I like it because there’s no point throwing players in for one series and then dropping them in another. So, I love the fact that they’ve picked him.
I also would have kept Abhishek Sharma. He did start well in the series in Zimbabwe. I think you’ve got to give those young players time and India, with all the retirements of their legends, have got time now to bring that next wave through.
Khaleel Ahmed is reaping the rewards of his hard work and good performance in the IPL. How big this opportunity is for someone like him who is making a comeback after such a long gap?
It’s a massive opportunity. He’s another player we saw when he first got picked. Bowling is hard work and you’re going to have days where batsmen, batsmen get hold of you and you’ve got to fight your way through it. So I think it’s a really good sign of his character as well that he has been able to fight his way back into the side.
After that IPL, he deserved it because he had a standout tournament. He played really well. And the other thing too is, you know, India plays so much cricket around the world that, you know, you do need a big battery of fast bowlers.
You need 10 or 12 of them so that if there are any injuries, you don’t lose anything when the next wave comes through. I feel like I’m just sitting here praising the Indian selectors, but I think they’ve got it right.
The Indian pace unit won’t be having Bumrah with them. In that case, Siraj gets to lead the charge with Pandya, and the likes of Arshdeep and Khaleel Ahmed. What do you make off this pace attack?
These fast bowling stocks are the one area where India probably needs a little bit more help, which is why I like the selection of these youngsters. Anytime Bumrah is not here, your team is going to be weaker. He’s as good as anyone who’s ever played the game, especially the white ball. So the decision to give him a rest, you totally understand. You’ve got to make sure that he’s fresh and ready for some of the other challenges that India have in front of them.
Siraj, he leads RCB, Khaleel leads his bowling attack. And that’s what you’re looking for the next wave. And you want more out of Hardik Pandya. That’s why I like the decision not to make him captain because I really want him to see him stand up with a dominant role with the ball more than anything. Is it an opportunity for Shivam Dube as a fourth seamer? Perhaps, maybe.
But if I was in the opposition, I’d be looking to attack Shivam Dube as well. There’s a really good opportunity for a lot of players in this Indian team. And I think it starts with the bowling.
Gautam Gambhir is known for his aggressive and determined playing style. Do you think these traits will influence his coaching approach, and how might they benefit the Indian team?
That’s just a fascinating one. I will be sitting there with my popcorn watching this and how it unfolds over the next 12 months or so. I’ve my previous experience, I’ve always found captains will end up coaching just like their captains. And we all saw the way Gautam Gambhir was a captain.
He was very abrasive, he was aggressive, he was all of those things you describe. And I don’t think it’ll be any different as a coach.
You know, he has brought a really strong team unity at KKR when he went back there, which I think you’ve got to say is a really good point and a positive for his coaching style. He’ll try and do the same thing with India.
I look at someone like John Wright when he was in charge of India, he had a very happy dressing room from what we could understand. But then you had Greg Chappell who was quite abrasive and aggressive and it didn’t work for those senior players.
I think Gautam Gambhir will look to get that mix right. He certainly has the experience. He’s an intelligent cricketer. If he can continue doing what he was doing with KKR, then India have got themselves a good coach.
How do you see Gautam Gambhir’s transition from managing IPL team to the national team especially as he takes on his first stint as India head coach? What qualities do you think he brings to the team?
It depends on the setup of the Indian team. What we’re seeing a lot now is you have a head coach who’s almost like a CEO of a company. He sits above that. And then the coaches that do all the work, batting, bowling, fielding, et cetera, are all sitting underneath the head coach. So, I don’t expect the head coach to do that much one-on-one coaching.
Gautam Gambhir is responsible for the whole team taking them in a certain direction. This is what we’re going to do.
He may not have been the actual coach of KKR, but he as a mentor, he had a big say in the strategy of how the team was going to look well, what sort of cricket was going to play, the roles that he wanted and the people in those roles.
Sri Lanka has been struggling in white-ball cricket recently. What do you think are the key issues they need to address to compete effectively against India in this series?
I think they’re very much like New Zealand. I commentated at the Lanka Premier League last year and there’s a lot of talent over here. But when we were reading out the players’ names or talking about them that all played two games, four games, six games, three games for Sri Lanka, they had never given the players a consistent run and said, ‘You are someone that we’re going to give an opportunity to, we’re going to play you for the next four months no matter what.’
To me, Sri Lanka have perhaps gone the opposite. If you don’t come in and dominate right from ball one, then they pick someone else. So, there are a lot of players who’ve played for Sri Lanka, but they haven’t really been able to nail it down.
I’d like to see Sri Lanka do that because they’ve got a lot of talent they haven’t delivered on the international stage like they should. Therefore, I think you’ve got to change your strategy on how you’re going to pick your team.
How do you see the two teams matching up in this series, considering India’s recent form and Sri Lanka’s struggles? What key battles are you looking forward to?
The battles are a simple one. I think Sri Lanka’s bowlers look quite strong. It’s a real shame that Dushmantha Chamira isn’t going to be fit because I think a full-strength bowling line-up for Sri Lanka is a good one and against a talented Indian batting line-up, although an inexperienced one, that could have been an opportunity for Sri Lanka. So I still expect if Sri Lanka ought to win, I, I believe India are favourites.
And quite rightly after the way they’ve been playing, even with the retirements of the legends, I still think that the way for Sri Lanka to beat India is for those bowlers to get into that top order, and knock them over.
The way that Sri Lanka have struggled a little bit recently and the way that India have been just flying with every tournament, whatever country they’re in, you know, they deserve to be the favourites.
And what, in your opinion, would be the scoreline?
Of the T20I series, I’ll say 2-1 to India and 3-0 in the ODIs.
Watch the live coverage of India Tour of Sri Lanka, 7 PM onwards starting on 27th July 2024 LIVE on Sony Sports Ten 5 & Sony Sports Ten 1 in English, Sony Sports Ten 3 in Hindi and Sony Sports Ten 4 channels in Tamil & Telugu.
Sony Sports Network is the official broadcaster for India Tour of Sri Lanka in India – comprising three T20Is & three ODIs.
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