“Gautam era has started”: Pragyan Ojha on changes made by head coach ahead of Sri Lanka tour

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], July 26 (ANI): Ahead of the Sri Lanka tour, former India left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha asserted that the Gautam Gambhir era has started and it would be interesting to see what changes he brings to the team.

“The Gautam era has started and it has been good to see what changes he will bring to team India, as this is the new era of team,” Ojha told at an event organised by Sony Sports Network.

Notably, Gambhir is the newly appointed head coach of the Indian team after he replaced Rahul Dravid, who vacated the seat after India’s T20 World Cup triumph in America last month. This is Gambhir’s debut tour as India coach.

Many changes have been made in the team after Gambhir became the head coach, Suryakumar Yadav has been made the T20I skipper instead of Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, India’s vice-captain in white-ball formats, is the deputy to SKY in the shortest format; and the second-in-command to Rohit Sharma in the ODIs during India’s trip to Sri Lanka, moreover, some of the big names missing out in the squad.

India’s tour of Sri Lanka will start on July 27. The tour will kick off with a three-match T20I series, followed by a three-match ODI series, which will start on August 2. The Pallekele International Stadium will be hosting the T20I leg of the series, while the R Premadasa is getting to host the 50-over matches.

The three ODIs will be held on August 2, August 4, and August 7.

The 37-year-old further stated that he is really impressed with T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav.

“I am impressed with Surya Kumar Yadav and he is one of the good players and now it has to be seen how he led the Indian side,” the left-arm spinner said.

“From this year on, senior players will also play Ranji but it’s so sad that BCCI had to tell them to play you are whatever today; it’s all because Ranji games,” the 37-year-old added.

In the end, Ojha concluded by saying that calling senior players for the ODI series was a really good decision.

Earlier, it was expected that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma would get more rest and would not be a part of the Sri Lanka series. However, both of them agreed to join the ODI team for the SL series. Former Indian cricketer Pragyan Ojha believes that this is the right move, as it will help everyone get a clear picture of how the Men in Blue side will move forward.

“To call senior players for the ODI series, it’s a good decision. You have to serve the nation and every coach wants a good result from his starting tenure,” the former player concluded.

Both teams will be taking to the field with new head coaches. Legendary all-rounder Sanath Jayasuriya has been named as the interim head coach for the Lankan Lions.

India’s last tour of Sri Lanka for a bilateral white-ball series came back in July 2021, with Dravid coaching the Shikhar Dhawan-led side. India won the ODI series 2-1, while Sri Lanka secured the T20I series by the same margin.

T20I Squad for Sri Lanka series: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, and Mohammed Siraj.

ODI Squad for Sri Lanka series: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.