Former Coach Claims ‘Hardik Was Treated Unfairly’ as Surya is Named Captain !!

Former India cricketer Sanjay Bangar feels Hardik Pandya will be “deeply hurt” to be overlooked for the role of India’s T20 captain ahead of the Sri Lanka tour. Earlier this week, the BCCI appointed Suryakumar Yadav as India’s new T20 captain while Shubman Gill, who captained the side in the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, has been appointed as the white-ball vice-captain, starting with the three-match T20I and three-match ODI series against Sri Lanka.

The change in the leadership role was unexpected as Pandya was the de facto captain of the T20 side in Rohit Sharma’s absence after the 2022 T20 World Cup. As soon as Rohit, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirement from T20s after the T20 World Cup win in Barbados, it was expected that the all-rounder would regain the leadership role in the shortest format. However, under new coach Gautam Gambhir, Suryakumar emerged as the preferred choice for captain, with Gill as his deputy. Reports have claimed that Pandya’s injury-plagued career is one of the reasons for not selecting him as the Men in Blue captain in T20s.

Surprised by Hardik not being made captain

Bangar said on Star Sports, “As far as Hardik not being made the captain of the T20 team is concerned, I am a bit surprised because even before the last T20 World Cup, it seemed that if Rohit had not become the captain and Hardik had not been injured at that time, Hardik would have become the captain.”

He said, “The Indian team had started going in that direction. The selectors had also found that way. I find this sudden U-turn a bit disturbing. We have read that the chairman of the selection committee and the coach have spoken to Hardik Pandya.”

The veteran cricketer does not doubt Suryakumar’s abilities to lead the Indian team, but he called it “injustice” to Pandya. Bangar said, “It is not that Suryakumar Yadav has played less domestic cricket before playing international cricket. So he has a lot of experience, I think he has led Mumbai in domestic cricket as well and knows how to get the best out of the players.”

Big Mistake with Hardik

He said, “So there is nothing wrong in making Suryakumar the captain. I am confident that he will do a good job, but I still feel that Hardik has been a little unjust.”