New Delhi, July 21
Former India cricketer Sanjay Bangar feels that Hardik Pandya will be "deeply hurt" after being overlooked for India's T20I captain role ahead of the Sri Lanka tour.
Earlier this week, BCCI appointed Suryakumar Yadav as India's new T20I captain while Shubman Gill, who captained the side in five-match T20Is against Zimbabwe, has been appointed as white-ball vice-captain, starting with the three-match T20I and three-game ODI series against Sri Lanka.
The change in leadership role was unexpected as Pandya was the defacto captain of the T20I side in Rohit Sharma's absence after the 2022 T20 World Cup. As Rohit, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja announced their T20I retirements after the T20 World Cup triumph in Barbados, it was expected that the all-rounder would regain the leadership role in the shortest format.
However, under new coach Gautam Gambhir, Suryakumar emerged as a favourite choice for the skipper while Gill as his deputy. The reports claimed that Pandya's injury-prone career is one of the reasons to not pick him as Men in Blue captain in T20Is.
"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," Bangar said on Star Sports.
"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," he added.
The veteran cricketer does not doubt Suryakumar's abilities to lead the Indian team but called it an "injustice" for Pandyda. "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," Bangar said.
"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."
The former India batting coach said the decision has sure made a deep impact on the all-rounder, who will feature in the T20I series against Sri Lanka, starting on July 27.
"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," Bangar stated.