Why was Hardik Pandya dropped as T20 captain and Suryakumar Yadav named captain?

The T20 and ODI series between India and Sri Lanka starting later this month will start a new chapter of Indian cricket. Under the guidance of new head coach Gautam Gambhir, the team will embark on a mission to achieve more achievements. However, there have been many major changes in India's T20 team for this series. After the T20 World Cup 2024 victory and after Rohit Sharma's retirement from the format, it was believed that designated vice-captain Hardik Pandya would be promoted as captain. However, this did not happen.

Suryakumar Yadav named T20I captain?: The selectors took a shocking decision and made Surya the captain. Now there is a lot of talk about why Hardik was not made the captain. A big revelation has been made in a report by the Indian Express regarding this. The report claims that the feeling of discomfort about Hardik in the minds of the players helped make Suryakumar the captain. Hardik has not even been named the vice-captain. Shubman Gill will be the vice-captain in both ODI and T20 series.

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Why was Hardik Pandya dropped as T20 captain

• It was believed that Pandya's fitness could largely be the reason behind his removal from captaincy. However, now the Indian Express report claims that the vote went in Suryakumar's favour due to the players' trust. The report claims that the 'feedback' that the BCCI received is that the players trusted Yadav more than Pandya and were comfortable playing in him. The report claims that the selection meeting, which went on for several hours over two days, was unlike any other meeting, as there were heated debates and differences of opinion. Calls were made to players who were in the selectors' long-term plans.


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• The report further claims that Suryakumar's man management skills impressed the BCCI selectors. When Ishan Kishan was about to leave India's team midway through the South Africa tour last year, Suryakumar is said to have tried to convince him to stay back. He is said to have spoken to fringe players to take advantage of the opportunities. Another school of thought is that Suryakumar's style of communication is similar to Rohit's and players are comfortable talking to him. This is also being cited as the reason behind giving him preference over Hardik. The report also states that Hardik, the vice-captain of the T20 World Cup winning team that bowled the historic last over in the final against South Africa, was informed about their decision by Agarkar and Gambhir on Tuesday.
• Hardik was also the vice-captain in the 50-over World Cup last year before his injury. However, now Shubman Gill has been appointed vice-captain in both formats, making it clear that the selection committee and Gambhir want to think beyond Hardik as a leadership option. Hardik's frequent injuries also went against him. He has played 46 out of a total of 79 T20 Internationals for India since January 1, 2022. At the same time, Suryakumar did not play only a few matches during this period. That too because he had undergone sports hernia surgery. Surya captained the T20 series in November last year, helping the team beat Australia 4-1 and then drew 1-1 in South Africa.

Also Read: Injury Update: Mohammed Shami will return to Team India soon

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