India captain Suryakumar Yadav, whose captaincy skills were on display during the first T20I against Sri Lanka, stated that he wants to classify himself as a leader and not as a captain. When Sri Lanka’s opening duo of Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis inflicted carnage in Pallekele, the 214-run total started turning into a comfortable chase for the hosts. Sri Lanka raced to 84/0 in the ninth over and looked well set to spoil the beginning of Gautam Gambhir and Suryakumar’s era.

With India fielding only five mainstay bowlers, Suryakumar was running out of options. In the ninth over, he brought Arshdeep Singh back into the thick of action, hoping for a breakthrough.

The young left-armer delivered and removed Mendis from the crease. The setback didn’t stop Sri Lanka from retracting their aggressive approach.

However, Lankans were forced to take a step back after Suryakumar introduced Axar Patel in the 15th over. With the pitch offering turn, Axar weaved magic and dismissed Kusal Perera and set-batter Nissanka to take the game away from the hosts.

Suryakumar’s captaincy skills were recognised and praised by former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan. However, Suryakumar wants to be more than a captain of the India T20I team.

“I… I don’t want to be a captain; I want to be a leader. That’s it. It felt good to see such good support here and in this country,” Suryakumar said in a video posted by BCCI on X.

???? Showcasing some of #TeamIndia‘s stars from first T20I ????#SLvIND | @surya_14kumar | @akshar2026 | @ParagRiyan pic.twitter.com/LRG1ZiIiQa

— BCCI (@BCCI) July 28, 2024

One of the key highlights of the game was Suryakumar handing the ball to Riyan Parag. The youngster who failed to deliver with the bat chipped in with valuable contributions with the ball.

He expelled the spinning track, picked up the spots for his delivery and bagged a three-wicket haul while giving away just five runs in his 1.2 overs.

The 33-year-old shed light on what led to him handing the ball to Parag at the crucial juncture of the game.

“This Riyan Parag can be special because I have seen him bowl in the IPL as well as in the nets. And I also said on the PC that he has an X-factor,” Suryakumar said.

India went on to successfully defend their total by restricting Sri Lanka to 170. After going 1-0 in the series, India took an unassailable lead in the second T20I on Sunday.

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