India all-rounder Hardik Pandya found the leadership responsibility in the shortest format, which seemed to be his after Rohit Sharma‘s retirement, taken away from him after Gautam Gambhir was hired as the team’s new head coach. Gambhir, in consultation with chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar, handed the captaincy responsibility to Suryakumar Yadav in T20Is, while Shubman Gill was made his deputy. Reflecting on the decision, Ashish Nehra, the man who coached Hardik during his role as captain at Gujarat Titans, isn’t surprised to see this move by the Indian team management.
Hardik and Nehra had a successful stint at Gujarat Titans as captain-coach, which saw the team reach two Indian Premier League finals in two years, winning one. But, Nehra feels Gambhir has some other ideas with respect to the way he plans to run the Indian team going forward, and Hardik doesn’t come into those plans as a captain or vice-captain.
“No, I am not surprised. When it comes to cricket, these things keep happening. Yes, Hardik Pandya was vice-captain in the World Cup, but at the same time, there is a new coach who has come in. Every coach and every captain have different thoughts. At this time, his (Gambhir’s) ideas are toward that direction,” Nehra told Sports Tak.
In the press conference before Team India flight to Sri Lanka, Agarkar cited fitness as the primary reason behind the decision to deny T20I captaincy to Hardik. Nehra too was in agreement with the chief selector on the topic.
“I think Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir have made it clear, that’s good. He is playing one format, 50-over also, he is playing less. Hardik Pandya, in white-ball cricket, will remain a very, very important player for Indian cricket. When you have him, you can have 4 fast bowlers, he brings in a different balance to the side and keep in mind, that there’s no impact player in international cricket.
“Not just Hardik Pandya, but when you have so many matches, there will be changes. Even Rishabh Pant has captained, KL Rahul has captained,” he added.
Nehra was also pleased to see Shubman Gill being given the role of vice-captain in both T20Is and ODIs, but the former India pacer also admitted that the batter is still a ‘work in progress’ as a leader.
“They have made Shubman Gill in not just one format, but in all three formats. That means you are looking ahead.
“Shubman Gill is a work in progress. He is 24-25 years old now. He will get better as we go ahead. He has the desire to play all 3 formats, he has the heart to learn. He is not someone who thinks that whatever he is doing is right. He is not that kind of guy. Be it a youngster or an experienced player, he likes to have a discussion and learn,” he said.
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