Team India's newly appointed T20I skipper, Suryakumar Yadav, has finally ended his prolonged silence on the Indian Cricket Board's decision to prefer him over T20 World Cup 2024 vice captain Hardik Pandya. The swashbuckling batter has revealed that nothing has changed between him and Hardik Pandya, and their bond and friendship still remain the same. Surya's bold statement came on the eve of the first T20I game against hosts Sri Lanka, which is slated to take place on July 27 at Pallekele International Cricket Stadium in Kandy.

Notably, Baroda-born all-rounder Hardik Pandya was the primary choice to take over the reins from Rohit Sharma, who announced his retirement after his side defeated the South African side in the final showdown of the 2024 T20 World Cup. Pandya was the unofficial T20I skipper and led the side in the T20I format of the game after the 2022 T20 World Cup, when Team India were brutally hammered by 10 wickets against Jos Buttler and his men in the semi-final shown at Adelaide in Australia.

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Interestingly, the new head coach, Gautam Gambhir, and the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee felt that Suryakumar Yadav would be the better choice, as the former world number one T20I batter had a higher chance of staying injury-free and would remain available for most of the matches.

He is a very important player for the team: Suryakumar Yadav

Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav feels that Hardik Pandya will carry his T20 World Cup 2024 winning form into the Sri Lanka series, and he will be an integral part of Team India. Saturday will be the very first time Hardik will play under Suryakumar Yadav's leadership. Amazingly, the opposite has happened a plethora of times in international cricket and the IPL for the Mumbai Indians.

“Hardik's role has always been the same. He is a very important player for the team. The way he performed in the World Cup, I hope he will continue to do the same,” Surya told reporters on Friday.

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