India head coach Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar have let in an insight on why Hardik Pandya has not been assigned a leadership role in the India team for the next T20I and ODI trip to Sri Lanka. The most noteworthy headline of Gambhir’s debut India team was that Hardik Pandya was not even appointed the vice-captain in any form while Suryakumar Yadav had been elevated to skipper of the team in shortest form. Agarkar indicated that Pandya’s demotion resulted from his fitness worries.
” Regarding Hardik, he has battled with fitness in particular. It becomes tough then as selectors. Agarkar remarked, “We want someone (as captain) who is probably more available.” As he and Gambhir showed at a news conference, the latter’s first as India head coach.
Agarkar underlined that Hardik’s all-around abilities make him still a major contributor to Team India.
“Pandya, he is still a very significant participant. And that’s exactly what we want him to be; those kinds of abilities are rare.
With 144 runs with the bat and 11 wickets with the ball in 8 games, Pandya took front stage in India’s T20 World Cup triumph in June. Agarkar has argued, nonetheless, that Suryakumar Yadav is the ideal candidate for leadership.
“He (Suryakumar Yadav) is a worthy nominee. For us, he has been rather outstanding. Agarkar remarked, “We feel Surya has all the required traits to be a good captain.”
Although Suryakumar Yadav has guided India in T20 IS in the past, given Gambhir’s appointment, his elevation to captain should not surprise anybody. After all, Gambhir had appointed him his deputy at Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), when Suryakumar was just twenty-four.
India squads for Sri Lanka tour:
T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj.
ODI Squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Shubman Gill (VC), Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Riyan Parag, Axar Patel, Khaleel Ahmed, Harshit Rana.
