Suryakumar Yadav is a short-term captaincy option as Shubman Gill gets ready to take over: Scott Styris

The former New Zealand cricketer Scott Styris opined that Suryakumar Yadav's appointment as India's T20I captain is a short-term plan as the ultimate idea is to have Shubman Gill at the helm in a few years.

Styris has been one of Gill's biggest admirers since his early days in international cricket. The Punjab cricketer recently replaced Hardik Pandya as the vice-captain of the Indian team in T20I cricket. He was also named as the deputy of Rohit Sharma in ODIs. Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav was appointed as the captain in the shortest format of the game and he will begin his tenure on Saturday, July 27, in the first of the three T20Is between India and Sri Lanka.

Styris believes that Suryakumar's appointment as India captain isn't a long-term plan as he will be acting as a bridge to give Gill adequate time to brush up his leadership skills before taking charge.

"Look, a vice-captain is just someone who is learning all about leadership and how to run a cricket team. I have no problem with Shubman Gill being vice-captain. He captains in the IPL. He captains a lot of big names, so there's not an issue with that," Styris told India Today in an interview.

"It's more the long-term picture. What it says to me, with Hardik Pandya not being captain, all the senior players retiring. Maybe Gautam Gambhir just doesn't see a natural leader at the moment, which is why he's gone for Suryakumar Yadav as almost like a bridge or a temporary captain for a year or two. And then maybe Gill steps in in that role in a couple of years time," he added.

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The former New Zealand all-rounder acknowledged that Gill, who made his international debut in 2019, still has a lot to learn. Styris feels that the management has given him the time to improve his consistency across formats before taking charge of the team.

"Shubman Gill has a lot of growth yet to do in his own game. We've seen some really high-quality performances for India, but it's now about consistency across those three formats. So it's almost like letting him learn how to be a captain. We've got an eye on you in the future, but at the moment we still just want you to concentrate on your cricket," said Styris.

Really smart decision to bring Suryakumar as captain, Gill is not ready yet: Scott Styris

Styris noted that new head coach Gautam Gambhir didn't have a natural captain in his squad and that the move to go in with the experienced Suryakumar was a smart move. Styris backed Gill to lead India for 10 years and also predicted a timeline for the start of his captaincy tenure.

"I think he's a short-term option. I don't think Gambhir has a natural captain among the players that he has right now. So, he's buying himself time as to who will be the next long-term captain," the cricketer-turned-commentator stated.

Also Read: Hardik Pandya is a very important player for the team: Suryakumar Yadav

"You know, someone like Gill I think could do the job for 10 years for India, but he's not quite ready right now, so I think it was a really smart decision to bring in someone with a bit more experience. Someone like Suryakumar make him captain. If he does a decent enough job, then he might be the captain at the next T20 World Cup. And then after that, you can look at Gill or any of the other potential options around. But yeah, I think it's a really clever decision," he ended.