Suryakumar ends prolonged silence on jumping over Hardik Pandya to become India T20I captain; calls Rohit ‘engine’.

Suryakumar Yadav addressed questions on beating Hardik Pandya to India T20I captaincy role after Rohit Sharma retired following the World Cup win.India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav finally ended his prolonged silence on BCCI’s decision to prefer him as the skipper over Hardik Pandya. On the eve of the first T20I against Sri Lanka, which will begin a new chapter in Indian cricket under new coach Gautam Gambhir and Surya, India’s T20I skipper said nothing will change between him and Hardik.Hardik was the preferred choice to take over the reins from Rohit Sharma after the latter retired following India’s T20 World Cup win in the Americas. Hardik was India’s vice-captain in T20 World Cup and before that, he had led the Indian T20I side for nearly a year in Rohit’s absence.But new coach Gambhir and the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee felt Surya was a better choice than Hardik because Surya had a higher chance of staying injury-free and remaining available for most matches.Surya hoped Hardik would carry his T20 World Cup form into the Sri Lanka series as he continues to be an integral part of the team.“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.Saturday will be the first time Surya will captain a side featuring Hardik. The opposite has happened a lot in international cricket and the IPL for Mumbai Indians.In the three practice sessions that India have had in Pallekele so far, Hardik and Surya have been in great mood.‘Only engines has changed, bogies are same’: Surya on replacing RohitWhen asked about replacing Rohit as captain, Surya said nothing will change as far as the attacking approach of the India team is concerned.“The same train will go ahead; only the engine has changed and the bogies remain unchanged,” Suryakumar said on the eve of the first of the three T20Is against Sri Lanka here. “Nothing changes; the brand of cricket remains the same. It (the captaincy role) doesn’t change anything. It has given me an added responsibility. It is good that now I can do a ‘walk the talk’,” he added.