India’s white-ball squad for the Sri Lanka tour, which will start on 27 July, was declared by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday. This tour also saw the start of Gautam Gambhir as the director of the Indian cricket team after being appointed as the head coach. Of the many decisions, the most highlighted was the selection of Suryakumar Yadav as the new T20I captain instead of Hardik Pandya, who had earlier shown inclination towards this position after Rohit Sharma opted out of the T20 format.
It was therefore expected that T20 vice-captain Hardik Pandya who has been part of the victorious Indian team that won the T20 World Cup on June 29, Barbados, would be appointed as the T20I captain. His leadership profile on paper, especially his performance in the IPL as the captain and owner of the Gujarat Titans, made him the most qualified for it on paper. But Gambhir and, more evidently, the new chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, decided to invest in the long run for Suryakumar Yadav and the T20 World Cup headed to 2026, which India and Sri Lanka are set to host.
Kaif Reacts to Gambhir Decision
This decision has raised controversy. Mohammed Kaif, the ex-Indian cricketer concurred with Kern’s opinion and went further to advise that the team management should have thought of supporting Hardik Pandya for captaincy since he had offered the team leadership in the past. Kaif noted the fact that Hardik has had a successful IPL campaign with the Gujarat Titans, the team getting to two finals and winning one, and the job of T20 vice-captain.
Kaif said, “Hardik has captained the Gujarat Titans for two years, reached finals in the first year and won one, and also he has T20I vice-captain experience, while Suryakumar is a good player and a top T20 batsman but here management should have supported Hardik.”
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