Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif who was part of Sourav Ganguly's 2002 Champions Trophy squad believes that Hardik Pandya deserves captaincy after Suryuakumar Yadav's flop show in 4th T20I against England. Hardik was India's vice-captain during the T20 World Cup 2024 but surprisingly the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed Suryakumar Yadav as India's captain for T20Is after Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the shortest format of the game.
Kaif took his 'X' formerly known as Twitter to praise Hardik for his whiteball performances for India after Suryakumar got out on a duck in the fourth T20I against England.
"Think Hardik Pandya deserves captaincy. India's most valuable white-ball player, genuine finisher, World Cup hero and not getting impacted by stadium abuse. Sub ko chup kara diya, True leader" captioned Mohammad Kaif.
"The whole of India was in a state of shock. Hardik Pandya is that person. If you remember in the IPL, he was very badly treated. He was beaten up. I was the captain of Mumbai Indians in the IPL. And he is that person who decided that he will not show his pain to anyone. He will say my batting and my bowling will answer" said Mohammad Kaif
Hardik is currently featuring in the T20I series against England where he scored 53 off 30 when India were in a spot of bother during the fourth T20I. After featuring in the T20I series against England the star all-rounder will join Rohit Sharma-led squad for the three-match ODI series against England which is scheduled to start from February 6. After finishing the white ball series the MI skipper will travel to Dubai along with Team India for the Champions Trophy 2025 which will start from February 19. Team India will start their Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh on February 20 in Dubai.