Former Sri Lankan player Russel Arnold feels that the IPL 2024 had a massive role in Hardik Pandya’s snubbing as India’s T20I captain as well. However, Hardik led the Indian T20I team in the absence of Rohit Sharma last year until his injury during the ODI World Cup as well. He was also the deputy to Rohit Sharma during India’s title win in the recent T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA as well. But the management handed over the captaincy reigns in the T20 format to Suryakumar Yadav after Rohit’s T20I retirement as well.
“Well, both are exceptional players. They bring different things to the party. Suryakumar Yadav is probably one of the better T20 batters going around and the way he plays it, he obviously has to see and read the game like no one else. Hardik has also shown that. But I reckon with how the IPL went and whereas Hardik couldn’t really gain the respect of everyone around him, might have prompted BCCI to look in a different direction,” Arnold said.
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“It’s about getting everyone to gel and keeping everyone calm and happy so that you can pull in the one direction. I’m not saying that wouldn’t have happened under Hardik, but I guess, at this particular moment, it was a good opportunity and it’s a great opportunity for Suryakumar to showcase what he can do and make it his own,” Russel Arnold again shared.
However, Hardik Pandya took over the Mumbai Indians (MI) captaincy role from long-time captain Rohit Sharma before the 2024 IPL season. However, he failed to live up to the massive expectations and faced criticisms also, as MI finished at the bottom of the points table with only four wins in 14 outings. And, Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar opened up on the decision to appoint Suryakumar Yadav as the T20I captain over Hardik Pandya by pointing to the latter’s fitness issues.
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“But in regards to Hardik (Pandya), he’s still a very important player for us and that’s what we want him to be that player that he can be because those sorts of skill sets are very difficult to find what he has. Fitness, obviously, has been a challenge for him over the last few years and then it becomes a little bit more difficult for him and even as selectors. The fitness is a clear challenge and we want someone who’s likely to be available more often than not,” he said.
