I played under Rohit Sharma, but learned captaincy from Gautam Gambhir: Suryakumar Yadav

Suryakumar Yadav, Indian T20I captain, summed out on the dynamics and relationship with head coach Gautam Gambhir following the conclusion of the Asia Cup 2025 final versus Pakistan in Dubai. Gambhir and Suryakumar, India’s coach-captain pair, were successful in leading the team to its ninth Asia Cup triumph.

Suryakumar compared his relationship with Gambhir to that of an older and younger sibling, noting that it is close-knit.

He confessed that he has been learning from Gautam Gambhir since his days with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

“Gauti bhai and my relationship with him is like a younger and elder brother. We played together a lot. 4-5 [4] years for KKR. We know each other very closely. I have learnt so many things from him. Though I have played under Rohit, but I have learnt some tricks and trade of captaincy from Gauti bhai also when he used to lead for KKR. I have seen him play. He has been there whenever we felt like anything. He knows how things go in a player’s mind on the ground, how the preparations are needed for a tournament. If the player is doing well, how to push him forward, how to protect him,” stated Suryakumar,.

The 35-year-old elaborated on the manner in which Gambhir assists him from the sidelines. Suryakumar further confessed that he has often taken Gambhir’s advice from outside the fence on its face value given the level of trust between the two.

“He knows everything. Whenever I am on the ground, after every over, 2 overs, 3 overs, I look at the dugout. I look at him. He has something for me. Because from the outside, the game looks completely different. Sometimes, there are so many things running in my mind when I am on the ground. Who to bowl, where, what field placement to do. But whenever he is outside, as soon as he signals anything from the outside, I just do it without thinking. That is a great deal. We have that level of trust on each other,” he added.