During a recent interview with the media, the chief selector of India Cricket team, Ajit Agarkar revealed the exact reason for choosing Suryakumar Yadav over Hardik Pandya.
Earlier it was highly expected that Hardik might be the successor of Rohit Sharma after Rohit retired from the T20 Cricket as the 2024 World Cup gets over. But when the team got announced for the Sri Lanka tour, Surya was named as the skipper of the team in the shortest format and Shubman Gill was the deputy of the team.
Now the chief selector tells the reason behind this decision, he tells that the Pandya’s fitness in the last two years has not been that great and the selection panel and the head coach wanted someone who remains fit throughout the year so that the 2026 T20 World Cup will be a little easier for the team. Also he further added that they wanted to explore more options for the leadership role before the ICC tournament. He said,
“As far as Hardik is concerned, fitness has been something that he’s struggled with. As selectors, it becomes difficult then. The thought behind it was that we want someone (as skipper) who is likely to be available more. Pandya is still a very important player. And that’s what we want him to be, those skillsets are hard to find.”
He further added the reason behind why choosing Surya as the leader of the team not anyone else, he said,
“Suryakumar Yadav was made the captain, because he is one of the most deserving candidates. We have been getting the feedbacks from the dressing room. He has got great cricket brain, he is one of the best T20 batters in the world, and the one who is likely to play all the games. Surya has got the necessary quality that you need to succeed as a captain.”
Yadav also led the team during the T20 series against Australia which happened just after the 2023 ODI World Cup and he took the series 4-1 in his favour. He will lead the team for 3 T20s against Sri Lanka which will start from July 27th. In the ODI matches, Rohit Sharma will be the leader of the team.