IMAGE: India's Suryakumar Yadav in action during the recently-concluded ICC T20 World Cup. Photograph: BCCI/XSuryakumar Yadav, India's newly-appointed T20I captain, asserted that the team will continue to play the aggressive brand of cricket which hallmarked the regime of his predecessor, Rohit Sharma.
Under Rohit, who retired from T20Is after the World Cup triumph in the Americas, India played a template-changing attacking game from last year's ODI showpiece at home.
“The same train will go ahead; only the engine has changed and the bogies remain unchanged,” said Suryakumar, on the eve of the first of three T20Is against Sri Lanka in Pallekele.
“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.
For that, Suryakumar said he wants to tread the path that Rohit had during his captaincy stint.
"What I have learnt from Rohit is that he was always a leader on the ground and off it.
“He was not just a captain; there is a lot of difference between the two. He was a leader who stood in the middle of the group and showed people the way.
"How to play T20 cricket and how to win a tournament? That is what I have learnt from him," he elaborated.
Suryakumar, who pipped T20 World Cup vice-captain Hardik Pandya for India captaincy, said the all-rounder's role will remain the same.
“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."
Suryakumar expressed hope that younger players, like Riyan Parag and Rinku Singh, would come good in the series.
“Three players have retired (and) it will be difficult to fill the shoes. But new players have obviously practiced a lot and played a lot.
“They are already doing well when they play franchise cricket and they have also done very well in the matches they played for India. I have a lot of faith in them that they will do well."
Suryakumar said he is a "changed man" now, 10 years after he stepped down from Mumbai captaincy for being abusive towards his teammates on the field.
“I think it is a complete swap. If you say 2014, it is almost 10 years now. In 10 years a lot of things will change. You become a different person altogether. You get to learn a lot of things. I am also a completely changed man now.
“In 2016 I got married. So, absolutely, you have to change after that as well. But, yeah, things are completely different now,” he added.
Suryakumar underlined the influence of Rohit on him.
“I got to learn a lot of things from different captains I played under and, obviously, Rohit Sharma. I have been playing with him for the last six years. There are a lot of learnings taken from him and in my own style we will take the ship forward,” he said.
India's new head coach Gautam Gambhir recently expressed regret for not using Suryakumar's potential while they were together in Kolkata Knight Riders, but the latter said there was enough to make a turnaround.
“We can fulfil that potential together now,” he said, with a smile.
“Our bond has always been special. We have talked a lot. We both understand what we want to say just by our body language.
“Sometimes, even without expressing anything we understand what each of us want to say. I am very excited for this journey. Let's see what happens.”
