Team India is gearing up for a white-ball tour of Sri Lanka which is slated to kick off from July 27. This tour will be newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir's first assignment. The most surprising selection decision, however, came in the form of the T20I captaincy. Many expected Hardik Pandya to take the reins after Rohit Sharma's recent retirement from the format. Pandya, as the vice-captain of the victorious T20 World Cup team, seemed like a natural choice for succession. However, a different strategy seems to be at play. With the 2026 T20 World Cup, co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, on the horizon, both Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar appear to be looking towards the future. Their decision to appoint Suryakumar Yadav as captain suggests a long-term vision, prioritizing building a team around him for the next World Cup.
Not everyone agreed with the decision to choose Suryakumar Yadav as captain. Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif expressed his reservations. He felt the Indian team management should have shown more faith in Hardik Pandya, given his experience leading a T20 team in the past.
Mohammad Kaif questions India's T20I captaincy move
Kaif pointed to Hardik's successful stint as captain of the Gujarat Titans in the IPL. He reminded everyone that Hardik led the Titans to two consecutive IPL finals, even winning the championship in one season. In Kaif's opinion, Hardik's proven leadership qualities in the IPL deserved recognition from the national team selectors.
"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 told IANS.
"Gambhir is the experienced captain and coach... He understands cricket very well. I think 'Hardik ne aisa koi galat kaam nhi kiya ki unko captaincy na mile' (Hardik has not done anything wrong that he should not get the captaincy)," Kaif further said.
Hardik's captaincy experience extends beyond his successful IPL seasons. He also led the Indian team in competitive matches, including three ODIs and 16 T20Is. However, his stint with Mumbai Indians in IPL 2024 wasn't as fruitful.
"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," Kaif concluded.
India's T20I squad for Sri Lanka series:
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj.
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