Hardik Pandya was 'entitled' to T20 captaincy, 'he didn't do anything wrong,' says ex-India cricketer

The BCCI has named Surykumar Yadav as Team India’s new T20 captain under the coaching of Gautam Gambhir, but former star cricketer Mohammed Kaif feels that the management should have backed Hardik Pandya. The vice-captaincy for the Indian cricket team has been handed to Shubman Gill.

As per reports, Pandya’s poor fitness record went against him, but Kaif thinks his record as a captain in IPL where he led Gujarat Titans to the trophy in their debut season shows that the all-rounder was the right candidate.

“I think Hardik Pandya ‘shayad captain banne chahiye the’ (Hardik Pandya should have become the captain),” Kaif told IANS. “Hardik has captained the Gujarat Titans for two years and in their first year itself, they made it to the final…Hardik has experience captaining the T20I side. He was also the vice-captain at the T20 World Cup. Now, a new coach has arrived, there will be new planning. Surya is also a good player, he has been playing for years. He is a No.1 T20 player, I hope he will shoulder the captain’s responsibility well. But I feel they should have backed Hardik.”

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Kaif added that Hardik Pandya had made no mistake to lose out on the captaincy.

“Gambhir is an experienced captain and coach…He understands cricket very well. I think ‘Hardik ne aisa koi galat kaam nhi kia ki unko captaincy na mile’ (Hardik didn’t do anything wrong not to get the captaincy),” Kaif added.

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“He has experience, has captained in the IPL and leading a new team (Gujarat Titans) to the trophy, with fresh and young faces, which is a huge thing. He has made the Titans win by working from Ground Zero in the IPL…I think he was entitled to the captaincy. So let’s just wait and see.”

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Despite not being named the captain, Hardik is a part of the T20I squad for the Sri Lanka tour which starts on 27 July.