Rohit Sharma, who made the Indian team world champion in the shortest format of the game, has retired from T20 International. After his departure, the BCCI is looking for a new captain. Hardik and Suryakumar’s names are at the forefront in the race to become the captain of the Indian T20 team. But Suryakumar’s name has been much discussed as the new captain in the selection committee meeting for the T20 series against Sri Lanka.
Hardik Pandya was being seen as the obvious successor to Rohit Sharma but several factors changed things. Hardik’s performance as Mumbai Indians captain has been disappointing and the selectors are in no mood to let him choose the series of his choice. Suryakumar Yadav has overtaken him in the race to become the captain. The selection committee meeting was postponed. Now the meeting is likely to be held on Thursday.
Gautam Gambhir was involved in informal talks with BCCI officials and the selection committee on Tuesday evening about the future strategy. It is believed that during this meeting, there would have been talk of making Suryakumar the captain in place of Rohit. However, it is worth noting that Gambhir did not directly take Suryakumar’s name, but he made it clear that he would like a captain whose workload management is not a matter of concern.
A BCCI official told to a news agency, “Although Gambhir did not directly take Suryakumar’s name during the call, he made it clear that he would like to work with a captain whose workload would not be a hindrance for him.”
The selection committee has different opinions about Hardik Pandya. Some say that Hardik is the World Cup-winning vice-captain and after a poor performance in the IPL, Hardik’s personal performance in the World Cup was good, due to which he can be made the captain.
Hardik’s injury has been a matter of concern. He was out due to injury for about 6 months. He suffered an ankle injury during the ODI World Cup 2023. At the same time, he is also the captain of Mumbai Indians, so there is a high possibility of him getting injured due to continuous playing.