We have a lot of captains on the ground – Suryakumar Yadav on multiple leaders in India's T20I squad

As India gear up for the mega challenge against England starting with the first of five T20Is tonight, Suryakumar Yadav will be hopeful of leading the side to their fifth straight T20I series win. However, being the captain of the Indian team, it always comes with a boatload of challenges and more importantly, topics that come loaded with questions.

With Hardik Pandya no longer the T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav shot down a point of view as the change in role leading to a spat with his IPL teammate. In fact, talking in the pre-match press conference, SKY labelled Hardik as a very good friend.

Shedding light on his relationship with Hardik Pandya, SKY said, “The relationship with him has been really great. We've been playing [together] for a really long time. I still remember that from 2018, when I went back to Mumbai Indians [we first played together] and [it's the same] till today. It's just that the added responsibility that I've got [here]. When we go back to franchise cricket, I can get to be quiet and relax for a little bit.”

SKY also spoke on how Hardik will be a part of the leadership group along with Axar Patel, India's T20I vice-captain for this series, who will have a defining role to play in the squad.

He further added, “But we've been good friends on the field and we know what we want going forward with the India team. Axar has been given that added responsibility. We saw what he did in the 2024 T20 World Cup, he's been with the team for a very long time. At the same time, Hardik is also part of the leading group. When we sit, we decide what we want to do with the team going forward and even on the field, he is always around. We have a lot of captains on the ground."