'Big Responsibility' - Suryakumar On Replacing Pandya As T20I Captain 

image-lq0o87f5Suryakumar is leading India in absence of Pandya (Twitter)

Suryakumar Yadav pressed home the stiff nature of India's captaincy duties ahead of the three-match T20I series on the tour of South Africa and highlighted that replacing vice-captain Hardik Pandya at the helm is a "big responsibility". 

With Pandya undergoing an ankle injury rehab after captaining India over the past 12 months amid regular skipper Rohit Sharma's persistent T20I absence, the extravagant middle-order batter has been named stand-in leader for the shortest format since the recent home series against Australia, which the hosts won 4-1.

Speaking to the press about his role and responsibilities in Durban, Suryakumar opened up on the difficulty of donning the Indian captaincy hat amid the great weight of expectations and said replacing giants such as Rohit and Pandya is a massive development for him. 

Suryakumar Yadav's Honest Take On T20I Captaincy 

Having enjoyed his time at the top job during India's dominant series win over the Aussies, Suryakumar said he is keen to continue with the same excitement, openmindedness and attitude to learn and improve in the role. 

The experienced cricketer responded to the queries on his leadership and potentially becoming the new full-time skipper in the format going forward. 

"From personal point of view, it (captaincy) is a big responsibility. I really enjoyed it in the last series (against Australia). I would love to do the same (winning) in the coming series in South Africa," he said. "From the larger perspective, I feel we'll see what comes ahead but for now let's focus on the series."

Given his unmatched standing in the T20I set-up, Suryakumar could be one of the choices for the full-time role if the selectors take a U-turn on Pandya feeling the premier allrounder is overly injury-prone and shouldn't be given the extra responsibility. 

For now, however, the BCCI top brass is in dilemma whether to ask Rohit to make a late comeback to the shortest format and lead the country to the next T20 World Cup in June 2024. The 36-year-old hasn't played any T20Is since India lost the semifinal of the last edition of the tournament in Australia under his captaincy in November 2022.