The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will reportedly announce Suryakumar Yadav as the successor of Rohit Sharma for T20I captaincy. Hardik will feature for India in the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka this month but PTI reported that Suryakumar is the preferred choice of new head coach Gautam Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar to lead the team.
In the recently concluded T20 World Cup, Hardik scored 144 runs in his six outings of the multinational tournament with an average of 48.00 and a strike rate of 151.57, with a half-century and best score of 50*. He also took 11 wickets in eight games at an average of 17.36 and an economy rate of 7.64, with the best figures of 3/20.
"Hardik Pandya was India's T2O vice-captain under Rohit Sharma. He is completely fit and available for the three-match T20I series and was supposed to lead the side but there is a very strong feeling that SKY
would be the potential leader not only for the Sri Lanka series but till the 2026 World Cup," a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
After T20I series, Men in Blue will play three match ODI series where Hardik won't be available for the selection citing personal reasons. The ODI series will be most likely to captained by KL Rahul or Shubman Gill.
"Hardik's break from ODIs is for very personal reasons. He doesn't have any fitness issue as is being suggested in the media," the official said.
Hardik, Suryakumar’s T20I captaincy record
Pandya who was vice-captain of the Indian side in T20 World Cup 2024 led the team after T20 World Cup 2022 semifinal exit in the absence of Rohit. Pandya led India in 16 T20Is. India won 10, lost five whereas one ended in a tie due to rain interruption. But an injury in the ODI World Cup 2023 sidelined him for months. During this period, Suryakumar was named captain. Under Suryakumar’s leadership, India won five out of seven games.
The squad for the series is expected to be announced in the next couple of days.
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