(July 25), After Gambhir was appointed coach, Hardik Pandya was left out of the leadership group. Arnold claimed prior to the Sri Lanka series that Hardik was unable to win over players.
A month ago, Hardik Pandya was the vice captain of India, and he appeared destined to replace Rohit Sharma as captain after the team’s victory in the T20 World Cup. The leadership group was reorganized, though, with Gautam Gambhir taking over as head coach after Rahul Dravid departed. The star all-rounder was then benched in favour of Suryakumar Yadav, who was named India’s captain with an eye towards the 2026 World Cup. Shubman Gill was also appointed as Suryakumar’s deputy.
As the team moves into its transitional phase, Team India will now begin the Suryakumar-Gambhir era in Twenty20 Internationals when they play a bilateral series against Sri Lanka on July 27. Hardik has kept his spot in the starting lineup and will surely be an important member of the group.
Russell Arnold, a former cricketer for Sri Lanka, believes that Hardik’s unsatisfactory time at the Mumbai Indians may have been the deciding factor in his rejection of a captaincy opportunity.
This year, the MI had a terrible season and finished at the bottom of the table with Hardik leading them for the first time. Hardik was not helped by the controversy surrounding his appointment either, since most MI supporters were not happy about Rohit Sharma’s abrupt exit from the position. As a result, Hardik was jeered during the majority of MI’s home games.
“Well, they’re both really good players. They each bring something unique to the gathering. Being one of the better T20 batters currently in the game, Suryakumar Yadav obviously has to see and read the game like no one else. And Hardik has demonstrated that. However, I believe that the way the IPL played out, combined with the fact that Hardik didn’t really win over everyone around him, may have forced BCCI to consider other options, Arnold said Sports Tak.
He went on to say that Suryakumar was a better choice for the dressing room since the board prioritized happiness there.
To pull in one direction, it’s important to get everyone to work together and to maintain everyone’s composure. While I’m not saying that wouldn’t have happened under Hardik, I think that this was a good opportunity for Suryakumar to show off his skills and make it his own at this specific time,” Arnold remarked.
