Suryakumar Yadav, the dynamic batsman, has unexpectedly emerged as a strong contender to lead India’s T20 team until the 2026 World Cup, potentially surpassing Hardik Pandya, who was previously considered the natural choice for the position. Despite Pandya’s availability for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka, it has come to light that Suryakumar, who led India in eight T20Is against Australia and South Africa in the previous year, is the favoured choice of the newly appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir and the chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar.