The Board of Keep an eye on for Cricket in Bharat (BCCI) on Thursday picked the squad for the white-ball excursion of Sri Lanka, which starts on July 27, thus marking the beginning of Gautam Gambhir’s tenure because the brandnew head trainer of the group. Probably the most impressive variety resolution made for the excursion used to be naming Suryakumar Yadav because the brandnew T20I captain in park of Hardik Pandya, who appeared primed for the management position upcoming Rohit Sharma’s departure from the layout utmost day.
Hardik used to be the vice-captain of the Indian group that gained the T20 Global Cup on June 29 in Barbados, and it used to be a no brainer when it got here to taking on the reins within the T20I layout upcoming Rohit’s progress. Alternatively, each Gambhir and selector Ajit Agarkar reckoned that Suryakumar must be named the brandnew captain with the 2026 T20 Global Cup in thoughts, which can be collectively hosted by means of Bharat and Sri Lanka in 2026.
The verdict, alternatively, didn’t take a seat neatly with former Bharat cricketer Mohammad Kaif, who reckoned that the Indian group control must have sponsored Hardik for the captaincy position given his revel in of getting led a T20 group within the era. Highlighting his credentials in IPL, the place he led Gujarat Titans to back-to-backs finals, successful one in all them, Kaif felt that Hardik didn’t fallacious not to deserve the captaincy put up.
“Hardik has captained the Gujarat Titans for 2 years and in their first year itself, they made it to the final… Hardik has experience captaining the T20I side. He was also the vice-captain at the T20 World Cup. Now, a new coach has arrived, there will be new planning. Surya is also a good player, he has been playing for years. He is a no.1 T20 player, I hope he will shoulder the captain’s responsibility well. But, I feel they should have backed Hardik…” Kaif completely informed IANS.
“Gambhir is the experienced captain and coach… He understands cricket very well. I think ‘Hardik ne aisa koi galat kaam nhi kia k unko captaincy na mile’ (Hardik has not done anything wrong that he should not get the captaincy),” Kaif additional mentioned.
Excluding his captaincy stints in IPL, which additionally features a forgettable 2024 season with Mumbai Indians, Hardik led Bharat in 3 ODIs and 16 T20Is.
“He has experience, has captained in the IPL and leading a new team (Gujarat Titans) to trophy, with fresh and young faces, is a huge thing. He has made the Titans win by working from Ground Zero in the IPL…I think he was entitled to the captaincy. So let’s just wait and see,” he added.
