Players Trust Suryakumar Over Hardik, MI Chaos Adds Fuel: By a wide margin, Hardik Pandya is India’s finest seam-bowling all-round player. There’s no denying that. He was also the greatest choice, not very long ago, to take Rohit Sharma’s place as India’s white-ball captain. After all, during the 19 matches—16 T20Is and 3 ODIs—between June 2022 and August 2023, he captained India. The Baroda native was considered the captain of India’s 2024 T20 World Cup team after winning 12 of the previous 19 matches.
However, that did not transpire, as just a few months prior to the competition, Rohit Sharma made his comeback to the T20I scene. In the game, Hardik was the vice captain. They both did a good job. The World Cup was won by India. Everything went smoothly.
With all of his playing credentials and experience as captain, Hardik ought to have been leading the preparations for India’s post-Rohit Sharma and post-Virat Kohli T20I world. He isn’t, though. Suryakumar Yadav was the preferred choice for the T20I skipper for the Sri Lanka tour by the selectors and Gautam Gambhir, the new head coach. Not even Hardik was regarded as the vice captain. To Shubman Gill it went.
How everything went wrong for Hardik Pandya
Pandya’s performance wasn’t problematic. He was among India’s most reliable batsmen and bowlers during the T20 World Cup. What then spurred the alteration? What is the rationale behind Hardik Pandya’s severe treatment?
Similar to numerous aspects of Indian cricket, the solution is not simple. The primary concern, according to experts, was Hardik’s level of fitness. The 30-year-old all-rounder’s career took a turn for the worst during India’s fourth ODI World Cup group stage encounter against New Zealand, when he tragically twisted his ankle while bowling. He missed five months of action due to a major injury.
Pandya had already sustained significant injuries on previous occasions. He had serious back problems in the past, which kept him from bowling for about two years. The board and selectors were hesitant to choose him as captain with the T20 World Cup only six months away.
In the meantime, Rohit was keen to try again for an ICC trophy following India’s devastating loss to Australia in the ODI World Cup final. After Hardik’s fitness status remained unclear, it was decided to name Rohit as the captain instead of him. With the promise that he would collaborate with Rohit as the team’s leader, head coach Rahul Dravid was also convinced to continue until the T20 World Cup this year.
Following all of this, Hardik performed horribly both as a player and a leader in the Indian Premier League. Many began to doubt his talents as a result.
On the surface, an unsuccessful IPL campaign shouldn’t have an impact on India’s selection. However, his ability to lead did not inspire confidence. According to a BCCI official who spoke to Hindustan Times, “he could never win the dressing room at MI and many felt he couldn’t be trusted to rally the national team together” didn’t help.
Still, after Rohit, Hardik was the second-best choice. He was selected as Rohit’s deputy in the T20 World Cup squad for just this reason. Dravid and Rohit were behind him. However, now that they are both out of the T20I picture, new coach Gambhir desired stability. Although he did not explicitly support Suryakumar Yadav to be the new T20I captain, he made it plain that he would not want to collaborate with a skipper who needed to control his workload.
Players from India favour Surya
Pandya’s request to take a vacation from the Sri Lanka ODIs because of personal matters also had an impact and validated Gambhir’s misgivings.
While all of this was happening, the players provided input to the BCCI. According to The Indian Express, they felt more at ease under Surya’s leadership and liked him over Hardik. “It is said that the feedback received by the board was that players trusted Surya more than Pandya and were more comfortable working under him,” according to the newspaper.
It further stated that the Indian players were impressed by Surya’s composed demeanour and communication abilities during the South Africa trip and the home series against Australia last year. Many teammates also think that his approach to captaincy, which prioritised one-on-one contact, was reminiscent of Rohit’s.
But the choice was not an easy one. In spite of this, some members of the selection committee and the board believed Pandya was the best person to lead India’s Twenty20 team. At that point, the opinions of chief selector Ajit Agarkar and coach Gambhir proved to be decisive. Regarding selecting Suryakumar to be the T20 captain, they agreed.
