File photo of Hardik Pandya© AFP
The India cricket squad for the Sri Lanka tour, that starts on July 27 with a T20I in Pallekele, is out. This is Gautam Gambhir‘s first series as Indian cricket team head coach and the squads selected for the three T20Is and three ODIs are very interesting. The biggest development is that Suryakumar Yadav, and not Hardik Pandya, will lead the side in the three T20Is against Sri Lanka.
Before this, Yadav has led the Indian T20I side against South Africa and Australia. Pandya was the designated vice-captain of India at the T20 World Cup and it was expected that the next logical step would have been to make him captain. However, with Suryakumar Yadav’s appointment as Indian T20I captain, it can be assumed that Gautam Gambhir and Co. are looking at the Mumbai Indians batter as a long-term prospect for captaincy. Interestingly, Hardik Pandya has not been named as the vice-captain also. Shubman Gill has been named the new vice-captain.
In fact, a report by news agency PTI, earlier claimed that SKY may be made the captain till the 2026 T20 World Cup.
So, why Hardik Pandya – a player who had a major impact in India winning the T20 World Cup – was snubbed from captaincy?
According to ESPNCricinfo, “fitness concerns and workload management tipped the scales” against Pandya. The star all-rounder went on a lengthy break after a freak ankle injury at the ODI World Cup 2023. He made a comeback with the IPL. That was not all, as before that Pandya has often missed tournaments due to injuries.
Pandya, currently, is the best fast bowling all-rounder that India has. He is a rare commodity in Indian cricket. And if the management, wants to monitor his workload, they can’t be faulted.
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