Hardik Pandya on radar for T20I captaincy amid Suryakumar's form; Gambhir, BCCI officials believe India star was wronged
According to a report, Hardik Pandya is likely to return as the captain amid Suyakumar Yadav's dwindling returns with the bat.
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was unfortunate to lose the T20I captaincy despite leading the national team on numerous occasions between 2022 and 2024. BCCI's selection committee announced Suryakumar Yadav as Rohit Sharma's successor in the format after the senior batter retired from T20Is following the World Cup win in June last year. However, according to a report in Dainik Jagran, Hardik is likely to return as the captain amid Suyakumar's dwindling returns with the bat.
A few years back, Suyakumar had risen to the top spot in the ICC T20I Player Rankings among batters. However, since being trusted to lead the Indian side in the format, the Mumbai Indians star struggled to find form. Since the tour of Sri Lanka last year, ahead of which he took over the role, he scored 258 runs in 14 innings at just 18.42, with two fifties. In fact, in the recently-concluded home series against England, he managed only 28 runs in five innings , including two ducks.
With the form sparking a concern, a report in Dainik Jagran said that it has put Hardik back in contention for the captaincy role on the back of a consistent show in the format. The report further said that few officials of the BCCI and head coach Gautam Gambhir believe that the India all-rounder has been wronged a few times in the past.
"Despite Hardik being the vice-captain in the T20 World Cup, Surya Kumar Yadav was later made the captain. Surya's performance has also been poor. In such a situation, Hardik can return as captain in T20 as well. Some people who dominate the BCCI and Gambhir believe that a lot of bad things have happened to Hardik in history. He was not given the captaincy on the basis of fitness, while his performance has been consistently good," read the report.
Why was Hardik denied T20I captaincy?
BCCI's chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar, had explained last year, at the time of the captaincy announcement that Hardik fell behind in the race owing to his fitness.
"Regarding Hardik, he's still a very important player for us. Fitness has obviously been a challenge for him... Then it becomes difficult for the coach or selectors. Fitness is a clear challenge and we want someone who is available more often than not. Having said that, we believe Surya has the qualities necessary to be a captain. We also feel we can manage Hardik better, we've seen what he can do with the bat and ball in the World Cup... We speak to every player, whether their role has changed. And yeah we've spoken to him," Agarkar had said.
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