Gautam Gambhir shocks Hardik Pandya with his T20I captaincy and explains his choice.
Suryakumar Yadav is anticipated to be named captain of the Indian cricket team for the forthcoming Twenty20 International (T20I) series against Sri Lanka, replacing current vice-captain Hardik Pandya, as per a report. After India’s victory in the Twenty20 World Cup 2024, the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja was retired from international cricket. Shubman Gill was captain during the T20I series against Zimbabwe, but Suryakumar is being considered the captaincy choice.
According to an ESPN Cricinfo article, Hardik was being considered to take Rohit’s place as the long-term T20I captain, but his reservations about his fitness and ability to control his workload could mean that Suryakumar ends up in that role. Due to injury, Hardik has missed several games over the last 12 months.
It has been revealed that Pandya was informed earlier this evening that a long-term solution was being finalized to provide stability by both Gambhir and Agarkar.
Following India’s World Cup victory in the West Indies last month, Rohit Sharma bid farewell to his career as an international player in the shortest format, leaving the T20 leadership job empty.
One of the stars of that triumph, Pandya, will take a sabbatical for “personal reasons” during the three-match ODI series against the island country. The ODIs versus Sri Lanka will take place in Colombo from August 2 to 7, after the T20Is against them from July 27 to 30 in Pallekele.
In the next days, the series roster is anticipated to be revealed.
Under Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya led India’s Twenty20 team as deputy captain. He was meant to captain the team and is fully fit and available for the three-match T20I series, but there is a strong sense that SKY might lead the team not just through the Sri Lanka series but all the way to the 2026 World Cup, a senior BCCI source told PTI under condition of anonymity.
For extremely personal reasons, Hardik is taking a hiatus from ODIs. According to the source, “He has no fitness issues, despite what the media suggests.”
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