Ex-IND Star Criticizes BCCI: Claims 'INJUSTICE' Done to Hardik Pandya by Not Naming Him T20I Captain

The past few days have seen a lot of news coverage on Hardik Pandya. After Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from the T20 format, the Indian all-rounder appeared to be the front-runner to be elevated to the position of captain. But selectors and the team's new head coach, Gautam Gambhir, narrowed the field to Suryakumar Yadav. Pandya suffered a personal blow as well because he announced his divorce from his wife Natasa Stankovic the same day he was voted out as captain. The couple will share custody of their son Agastya, whom they married four years ago. The Mumbai Indians skipper made his first public appearance on Saturday after taking a professional-personal hit, but he chose not to talk about the urgent problems in his life.

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Sanjay Bangar provides his honest verdict on Hardik Pandya being dropped as vice-captain

Sanjay Bangar feels Hardik Pandya has been unfairly passed over for India's next T20I series leadership against Sri Lanka. Bangar pointed out that Pandya most likely would have been selected the captain for the T20 World Cup if Rohit Sharma hadn't returned in that format.

With the first game booked for Pallekele on July 27, India is poised to play three T20Is and three ODIs against Sri Lanka. Bypassing Hardik, the vice-captain during India's title-winning run in the recent T20 World Cup, the selectors have decided Suryakumar Yadav as the T20I skipper and Shubman Gill as his deputy.

Bangar was queried about the choice to choose Suryakumar over Hardik during a Star Sports 'Follow the Blues' broadcast. Sanjay 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," 

"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," 

Hardik Pandya has captained the Indian side to triumph in 10 out of 16 T20Is. Conversely, Suryakumar Yadav has led the Indian national cricket team in seven T20 International matches, achieving victory in five of them. Hardik Pandya will now be seen in action for India against Sri Lanka. The series will be starting on July 27, 2024. This will come after India’s successful series against Zimbabwe and the T20 World Cup.