Suryakumar Yadav named new captain of India's T20 team

Suryakumar Yadav has been appointed as India's T20 captain, the country's cricket board announced Thursday. Rohit Sharma stepped down from the role following last month's World Cup win.

Suryakumar, 33, will lead a 15-member T20 squad for a tour of Sri Lanka, with three internationals starting on July 27 in Pallekele.

Shubman Gill, who recently led a second-string Indian side to a 4-1 T20 series victory in Zimbabwe, has been named vice-captain for both T20 and ODI matches.

Rohit Sharma will continue to captain the ODI team. The ODI series against Sri Lanka will take place on August 2, 4, and 7 at Colombo's R. Premadasa Stadium.

Virat Kohli will return for the 50-over matches. Pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah will not be part of the tour after a demanding season.

Rohit and Kohli had taken a break but will return for the ODI matches as India begins preparations for the Champions Trophy in Pakistan next year.

Allrounder Hardik Pandya, who was Rohit's deputy in the T20 World Cup, was initially a frontrunner for the captaincy. However, frequent injuries have affected his selection.

Pandya, 30, suffered an ankle injury during the ODI World Cup last year and returned to action in this season's Indian Premier League, captaining Mumbai Indians. He is part of the T20 squad but will miss the ODI series, which will see the return of Shreyas Iyer, who had earlier lost his BCCI contract.

Suryakumar, known for his aggressive batting in the middle order, was new coach Gautam Gambhir's top choice for captain, according to media reports.

Rohit, Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja retired from T20 cricket after India's victory over South Africa in the final last month in Barbados.

The match also marked Rahul Dravid's last as head coach, with Gambhir taking over the role last week.

Suryakumar previously captained Mumbai in domestic cricket and led India to a 4-1 T20 series win over Australia last year, followed by a 1-1 result in South Africa.

T20I squad: Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Shubman Gill (vice-capt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Siraj.

ODI squad: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill (vice-capt), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.