Head coach Gambhir takes charge as Indian players hit the ground in Pallekele

New Delhi, July 23 (IANS) Newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir has taken official charge of the Indian team as the players assembled in Pallekele on Tuesday for the first training session in Sri Lanka ahead of the limited-overs series. Suryakumar Yadav-led Indian team reached Pallekele on Monday for the upcoming three-match T20I series, followed by three ODIs. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared a video of India's first practice session in Pallekele on their official X account.

"Head Coach Gautam Gambhir Takes Charge!" BCCI captioned the post.

In the video, Gambhir was seen watching players closely and giving some valuable batting tips to wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson.

Before leaving for the island nation, Gambhir addressed his first press conference with chief selector Ajit Agarkar, who revealed the reason behind the appointment of Suryakumar as the T20I captain over all-rounder Hardik Pandya.

"He is one of the deserving candidates. He is one of the best T20 batters in the world. We wanted a captain who was likely to play all the games. We will see how he will do," Agarkar told the reporters.

"As far as Hardik is concerned, he is still a very important player. And that's what we want him to be. Fitness has been a challenge for him over the last few years...Then it becomes difficult for the coach or selectors. I think Surya has the necessary qualities to succeed as a captain," he added.

The first T20I between India and Sri Lanka will be played in Pallekele on Saturday.

India T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), 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, Mohd. Siraj.

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