Fitness, feedback from the dressing room and consistent availability swung the pendulum in Suryakumar Yadav's favour when it was decided to appoint him captain of the Indian T20 team ahead of Hardik Pandya, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said in Mumbai on Monday.
Agarkar was addressing a media conference along with newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir ahead of India's tour of Sri Lanka where the team will play three T20 Internationals and as many ODIs against the hosts starting July 27.
"Fitness was a clear challenge and we wanted someone who was likely to be available more often," Agarkar said during the joint press conference.
"He is one of the best T20 batters and as captain, he is likely to play all the games. We think he is a deserving captain and we will see how he fits into the role."
Regarding star all-rounder Pandya, Agarkar said, "Hardik's skill-sets are difficult to find and fitness is difficult to find. we have got a bit more time and we can look at a few things.
"Fitness was a clear challenge and we wanted someone who was likely to be available more often," Agarkar said.
"We have taken general feedback from the dressing room also," he added.
As regards to former vice-captain KL Rahul being overlooked, he retorted, "I wasn't there when KL was superseded."
Agarkar said the door is not shut for the former deputies like Rahul, Rishabh Pant and even Pandya as far as the leadership role is concerned.
"We need to get him (Pant) back playing, that's the first thing. He's going to be a key to us as a player; hasn't had a lot of cricket. We'll see what he can do," he said.
"We don't want to burden somebody again who's just coming back after over a year out of the game. KL has not been part of T20 now for a little while," he said.
"We've got a chance to reset the button a little bit. We've got a bit more time to plan. We want to try and see… I mean, this time (in) T20 (against Afghanistan), frankly, when Hardik did get injured was a little bit of a challenge.
"At that point, Rohit wasn't playing but was still around (and) made our life a lot easier that he could come and play. We don't want that situation going forward again," he continued.
Chance for Gill to learn from experience
Agarkar said the selectors wanted vice-captain Shubman Gill to learn from the experience as well as from the senior players.
"Shubman is a guy that we feel is a three-format player and seems to have shown a lot of quality over the last year or so that we hear from the dressing room," he said.
"You try and have somebody who can also learn from a couple of the senior guys that are there.
"Surya in this instance or Rohit who's still around so we don't face the same challenges (that) suddenly (you are) trying to look for a captain in case there are injuries or loss of form somewhere," he explained.
"He's shown some decent leadership qualities. We want to try and get him the experience that he can put forward. There are no guarantees in life but at this point, that's the thought," he said.
The T20 series against Sri Lanka will start on July 27, followed by games on July 28 and 30.
All the matches will be played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium.
Suryakumar Yadav will lead a 15-member T20 squad in the three matches.
After that, the ODIs will be held on August 2, 4 and 7 at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
Rohit Sharma, who retired from T20 internationals after leading India to the World Cup triumph in the West Indies last month, will return as the skipper of the one-day international team.
