Only the engine has changed – Suryakumar Yadav ahead of India’s T20I series against Sri Lanka

India are all set to take on Sri Lanka in a limited-overs series as the first T20I will be contested at Pallekele today. Suryakumar Yadav will be leading the Indian contingent with Shubman Gill named his deputy. Ahead of India’s opening clash against Sri Lanka, SKY was a part of the pre-match presser and he shared some crucial insight into the upcoming series.

Talking about what is new, SKY said, “The same train will continue. Only the engine has changed. The bogies (carriages) are the same." He also shed some important light on his relation with Gautam Gambhir, pointing out that they have worked extensively together.

Surya added, “It's now been 10 years since we've been working together, even though I went into a different franchise in 2018 and he also went to another. We used to keep in touch, talk about the game, even if we were in different teams. There have been learnings in the last six years too when I was not with him.”

He further continued, “Our bond is special, we have spoken about the upcoming three T20s, not in great detail but we know each other fairly well, we can read each other's body language. There are some things he understands even if I don't say them in words. There's a special bond between a captain and coach. I'm very excited for this journey."

Adding further, he pointed out the crucial lessons that he has gotten from Rohit Sharma, stating, “What I've learned from Rohit is that he is always a leader on and off the field, not just as a captain, there's a big difference in the two. A leader stands with his players and guides them about how to play T20s, how to win games, and that's what I've learnt from him."

He concluded by talking about his batting, stating, “I don't think my batting style will change, as such. There will be pressure, but pressure is always there, otherwise there's no fun in playing. I'm going to play the way I've been playing so far. Nothing will change. It's better for me, in fact, because I can tell the team openly what brand of cricket we have to play in T20s going forward. I'll enjoy it more and can probably pass on the pressure on to others (laughs) and enjoy my game."