Mumbai: The newly appointed captain of the Indian T20 cricket team, Suryakumar Yadav, confirmed that Hardik Pandya's role in the team would remain unchanged. In a media interaction, Yadav emphasized Hardik's importance to the team and praised his contributions during the 2024 T20 World Cup in England.
"Hardik's role has always been the same. He is a very important player for the team. The way he performed in the World Cup, I hope he will continue to do the same," Suryakumar told PTI.
The announcement of Yadav as the new T20I captain raised questions among fans about his relationship with Pandya, particularly after the close race for captaincy. However, both players respect each other and often bond during training sessions.
Addressing the change of captaincy, Yadav reassured fans that the team's aggressive brand of cricket would only grow stronger.
"The same train will go ahead; only the engine has changed and the bogies remain unchanged," Yadav explained. "Nothing changes; the brand of cricket remains the same. It doesn't change anything. It has given me an added responsibility. It is good that now I can do a 'walk the talk'."
Reflecting on Rohit Sharma's leadership, Yadav expressed his admiration for his predecessor. "What I have learned from Rohit is that he was always a leader on the ground and off it. He was not just a captain, there is a lot of difference between the two. He was a leader who stood in the middle of the group and showed people the way. How to play T20 cricket and how to win a tournament? That is what I have learned from him," he elaborated.
In addition to the captaincy change, Shubman Gill has been declared the vice-captain for both the ODI and T20I teams, replacing Hardik Pandya. Hardik Pandya will continue as an all-rounder for the T20I series against Sri Lanka, scheduled to begin on July 27.
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Paris, Sep 7: India's Navdeep Singh's silver medal was upgraded to gold after Iran's Beit Sayah Sadegh was disqualified following a dramatic men's javelin throw F41 final at the Paris Paralympics on Saturday.
This is India's first-ever gold medal in the men's javelin F41 category.
Starting the competition with a foul, the 23-year-old para-athlete from Haryana, who had finished fourth at the Tokyo Games three years ago, came up with a throw of 46.39 metres in his second attempt, propelling him to the second place. But it was his third throw that electrified the stadium.
With a monstrous throw of 47.32 metres, Navdeep shattered the Paralympic record and surged into lead, only for Sadegh to better the Indian's mark and clinch the gold with a record-breaking effort of 47.64 metres in his fifth attempt.
However, the Iranian was disqualified some time after the end of the final, leading to the Indian athlete taking the top spot.
The F41 category is for athletes, who are of short stature.