Veteran Sanjay Bangar said that it has been wronged that Hardik Pandya is not being made India’s captain for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka as well. He added that the all-rounder would have been India’s skipper in the 2024 T20 World Cup had Rohit Sharma not returned to the side in the T20 format as well. However, India will face Sri Lanka in three T20Is and as many ODIs, with the first game slated to take place in Pallekele on July 27. And, the selectors picked Suryakumar Yadav as the T20I captain and Shubman Gill as his deputy, ignoring Hardik as well.
On the Star Sports show ‘Follow the Blues’, Bangar 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.”
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However, Hardik Pandya has led the Indian team to 10 wins in 16 T20Is. Meanwhile, Suryakumar has led the Men in Blue in seven T20I games, finding success in five of them as well. And, Sanjay Bangar expressed surprise about Hardik Pandya not being given India’s T20I captaincy as well.
“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. 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. 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,” Sanjay Bangar concluded.
