"A little injustice has been meted out to Hardik" - Sanjay Bangar on Hardik Pandya not being appointed India's captain for T20I series vs Sri Lanka
Sanjay Bangar believes Hardik Pandya has been wronged by not being made India's captain for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka. He pointed out that the all-rounder would have been the Men in Blue's skipper in the 2024 T20 World Cup had Rohit Sharma not returned to the side in the shortest format.
India will face Sri Lanka in three T20Is and as many ODIs, with the first game scheduled in Pallekele on July 27. The selectors picked Suryakumar Yadav as the T20I captain and Shubman Gill as his deputy, ignoring Hardik, the vice-captain in India's title-winning run in last month's T20 World Cup.
On the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues', Bangar was asked about Suryakumar being appointed captain ahead of Hardik. He said:
"It's 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 extract the best from the players."
"So there is nothing wrong in Suryakumar being made the captain. I fully believe that he will do a good job but I still feel a little injustice has been meted out to Hardik," the former India batting coach added.
Hardik has led the Indian team to 10 victories in 16 T20Is. Meanwhile, Suryakumar has captained the Men in Blue in seven T20I games, finding success in five of them.
"I am a bit surprised" - Sanjay Bangar on Hardik Pandya being denied India's T20I captaincy
Sanjay Bangar expressed surprise about Hardik Pandya not being given India's T20I captaincy.
"I am a bit surprised as far as Hardik not being the captain of the T20 team is concerned because even before the previous T20 World Cup it seemed like if Rohit hadn't become the captain and Hardik hadn't gotten injured at that time, Hardik only would have become the captain," he reasoned in the same discussion.
The cricketer-turned-commentator reckons the move is slightly concerning.
"The Indian team had started going in that direction. The selectors had also found that path. I find this sudden U-turn slightly troubling. We have certainly read that the chairman of the selection committee and the coach have spoken to Hardik Pandya," Bangar said.
While acknowledging that the selectors and Gautam Gambhir would have explained the reasons behind the decision to Hardik, Bangar opined that the latter would be hurt.
"As a player, you are always understanding what the selectors are trying to do, what the new coach is trying to do but deep within himself, I am pretty sure that Hardik will be deeply hurt that he is not being considered for T20 captaincy," he stated.
Apart from his stint as India's T20I captain, Hardik has been a reasonably successful skipper in the Indian Premier League. Although the Mumbai Indians endured a horror run under his leadership in IPL 2024, he captained the Gujarat Titans to the title two seasons ago and the final last year.