Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav are currently among the most discussed cricketers in India. While Pandya has been demoted, Yadav has been promoted to the role of Indian T20I captain. Pandya, despite being part of the T20I squad for the Sri Lanka tour, has not been appointed vice-captain.
Several reports suggest that Suryakumar Yadav is seen as a long-term captaincy prospect in the shortest format. This decision was unexpected for Pandya, who was the vice-captain during India’s T20 World Cup-winning campaign.
The new Indian cricket team coach, Gautam Gambhir, chose Suryakumar Yadav as the T20I captain. According to a report, this wasn’t a direct decision. A BCCI official has said, “Although Gambhir did not directly pitch for Surya in the call, he made it clear that he wanted to work with a captain whose workload would not become a stumbling block. Agarkar was clear with his views.”
Meanwhile, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has voiced his support for Hardik Pandya as T20I captain. Kaif said, “I think Hardik Pandya should have been made captain for the Sri Lanka tour. Hardik has captained the Gujarat Titans for two years, leading them to the final in their first year. He has experience captaining the T20I side and was also the vice-captain at the T20 World Cup. Now, with a new coach, there will be new plans. Surya is a good player and the No.1 T20 player. I hope he will handle the captain’s responsibility well. But I feel they should have backed Hardik.”
Kaif added, “Gambhir is an experienced captain and coach who understands cricket very well. I don’t think Hardik did anything wrong to be denied the captaincy. He has led a new team (Gujarat Titans) to the IPL trophy, working from ground zero, which is a huge achievement. He deserved the captaincy. So, let’s wait and see.”