Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of the BCCI’s selectors, gave an explanation for why Suryakumar Yadav was chosen over Hardik Pandya to be India’s new T20I captain. Although Hardik Pandya is still an important member of the team, Agarkar stressed that his fitness issues had an impact on the choice.
With an eye toward the 2026 T20 World Cup, Suryakumar Yadav was recently selected as the new captain of the Twenty20 Indian side by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). After India won the T20 World Cup in Barbados last month, Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the format. The top-ranked T20I hitter was picked to replace him over Hardik Pandya.
The Selector Explains The Quotient
“Regarding Hardik Pandya , he’s still a very important player for us. Fitness has obviously been a challenge for him… Then it becomes difficult for the coach or selectors. Fitness is a clear challenge and we want someone who is available more often than not. Having said that, we believe Surya has the qualities necessary to be a captain. We also feel we can manage Hardik better, we’ve seen what he can do with the bat and ball in the World Cup… We speak to every player, whether their role has changed. And yeah we’ve spoken to him,” The selectors’ chairman, Ajit Agarkar, explained the star batter’s preference over Hardik Pandya during the press conference.
The decision was communicated to Hardik, who was widely anticipated to assume the captaincy following his tenure as vice-captain during the T20 World Cup, before the official squad announcement for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. The selectors made their choice mostly due to worries regarding his fitness, even though he captained the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League and helped the side win two titles in their inaugural season.
Hardik Pandya Requires “Hand Holding”
According to a previous PTI report, Pandya’s prospects of being named the national captain were impacte
d by Gautam Gambhir’s selection. Agarkar’s selection committee also questioned Pandya’s tactical acumen as an international captain.
Former Indian cricketer Ashish Nehra provided Hardik with coaching when he was at Gujarat Titans, but Mark Boucher, the head coach of the Mumbai Indians, did not provide the same kind of assistance. Hardik encountered difficulties even with Boucher’s support, including as negative responses from the public and media rumors of discord in the Mumbai Indians’ locker room. During Rohit Sharma’s absence, Hardik has captained India in 16 T20Is and three ODIs in addition to the IPL. The T20I series against Sri Lanka on July 27, 28, and 30 will mark Suryakumar Yadav’s first assignment as captain. All games are expected to be played in Pallekele.
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