(ICC) - Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir answered burning questions in a press conference ahead of India’s tour of Sri Lanka

One of the biggest questions ahead of India’s squad announcement for the Sri Lanka tour was who would take over the reins of the T20I team.

Rohit Sharma retired from the format on a high after leading India to victory in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, leaving the T20I captaincy position vacant.

Hardik Pandya, who served as Rohit’s deputy during the tournament, was widely expected to take over the captaincy. However, India chose Suryakumar Yadav for the role instead.

Explaining the reasoning behind the decision, Agarkar suggested that Hardik’s fitness issues tilted the scales in favour of Suryakumar.

“Regarding Hardik, he's still a very important player for us,” Agarkar said. “Fitness has obviously been a challenge for him, then it becomes difficult for the coach or selectors.

“Fitness is a clear challenge and we want someone who is available more often than not. Having said that, we believe Surya has the qualities necessary to be a captain. We also feel we can manage Hardik better, we've seen what he can do with the bat and ball in the World Cup.

“We speak to every player, about whether their role has changed. And yeah we've spoken to him."

Hardik’s battles with injuries began during the Asia Cup in 2018, which eventually led to surgery for a stress fracture in his back.

More recently, the star all-rounder injured his ankle during India’s match against Bangladesh at the 2023 Cricket World Cup, sidelining him from international action until the start of the 2024 T20 World Cup.

In contrast, Suryakumar has been a consistent presence in T20Is since his debut in 2021. His aggressive batting style catapulted him to the top of the ICC Men’s T20I batters rankings for over a year, until he was recently displaced by Travis Head.

Elaborating more on SKY’s appointment, Agarkar added, “Suryakumar Yadav was made the captain because he is one of the most deserving candidates. We have been getting the feedback from the dressing room.

"He is one of the best T20I batters. Obviously, one of the main issues was you want a captain who is likely to play all the games. We think he is a deserving candidate. Hopefully we will see over time how he develops into the role."

The Indian team has departed for Sri Lanka for the white-ball tour consisting of three T20Is and as many ODIs. The first T20I will be played on Saturday, 22 July, followed by the ODI series starting on 2 August.