Hardik Pandya is undisputedly India‘s premier seam-bowling all-rounder. Until recently, he was also the leading contender to replace Rohit Sharma as India’s white-ball captain. In fact, Pandya captained India in 19 matches (16 T20Is and 3 ODIs) between June 2022 and August 2023, leading the team to 12 wins. His successful stint as captain has further cemented his status as a potential successor to lead India.

With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli retiring from T20Is, Pandya was the natural choice to lead India’s T20I team. However, the selectors and new head coach Gautam Gambhir surprisingly opted for Suryakumar Yadav as the T20I captain for the Sri Lanka tour, and even overlooked Hardik for the vice-captaincy role, which was awarded to Shubman Gill instead.

Hardik’s fitness issues began during the ODI World Cup, when the 30-year-old all-rounder unfortunately twisted his ankle while bowling. The serious injury sidelined him for five months. Upon his return, the selectors were reluctant to name him the captain for the T20 World Cup 2024.

Also, Mumbai Indians and Hardik’s disastrous IPL 2024 was also a reason. With rumors of rifts in the MI dressing room, his leadership failed to instill confidence.

“Despite his talents, he struggled to gain the trust and support of the players in the MI dressing room. As a result, many doubted his ability to captain the national team,” revealed a BCCI source,

Pandya’s request for a break from the Sri Lanka ODIs due to personal issues reinforced Gambhir’s doubts. Concurrently, the BCCI received player feedback preferring Surya over Hardik and expressing greater comfort with Surya’s leadership.

“The board received positive feedback by players saying they trusted Surya more than Pandya and felt more comfortable playing under Surya’s leadership,” stated a report by the Indian Express.

The Indian players were impressed by Surya’s calm demeanor and strong communication skills during last year’s home series against Australia and the tour of South Africa. Many felt that Surya’s captaincy style resembled that of Rohit Sharma, who is known for emphasizing one-on-one communication with players.

The decision to select the new T20 captain was not straightforward. While some of selection committee members favored Pandya, coach Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar were united in their view that Suryakumar should be appointed as the T20 captain.