Multiverse of Madness: Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar, Hardik Pandya's Captaincy saga in Indian Cricket

India Tour Sri Lanka 2024: Rohit Sharma-led Team India, courtesy of an epic last over by Hardik Pandya and a moment of iconic brilliance by Suryakumar Yadav helped Team India clinch the T20 World Cup on June 29, 2024. The entire country cried and danced in joy. The players hugged each other breathed a sigh of relief as if a big burden was off their back. Everything seemed great after India's World Cup win, but only till July 18, 2024.

The Great Indian Hardik Snub

After India crashed out of the T20 World Cup 2022, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had reportedly decided to look past Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in T20Is. Though the BCCI has never spoken about it, but both Rohit and Virat were always rested when India played T20Is up until February 2024 when India played a T20I series against Afghanistan. This left Hardik Pandya as an obvious choice to be India's next skipper, atleast in the T20Is.

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Hardik and IPL winning captain was all set to take the mantle of Indian cricket forward in T20Is, but then something happened which turned out to be catastrophic for him. Hardik led the young Indian side in T20Is through the last phase of 2022 and the entirety of 2023 keeping the 2024 T20 World Cup in mind. But Mumbai Indians' decision to replace Rohit Sharma with Hardik Pandya as their skipper made the fast bowling all-rounder a scapegoat for countless abuses. As they always say, comebacks are stronger than setbacks, Hardik earned his redemption in the T20 World Cup 2024, but there were still few surprises waiting in line for him.

With Gautam Gambhir becoming the Head Coach of India and Rohit Sharma retiring from T20Is, Hardik was considered as the automatic choice to lead India in T20I, but something strange happened which Hardik never saw coming. It is being reported that Gambhir opted Suryakumar Yadav as India's T20I skipper as Hardik has an injury prone body and he needs to manage his workload. Is this a start of a new Chappell-Ganguly era? Only time will tell.

The Hardik Pandya vs Suryakumar Yadav Debate

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Its is not only about Hardik Pandya or Suryakumar Yadav, but Shubman Gill has also been thrown into the mix of things as India's vice captain both in the T20I and the ODI format. What has been unfortunate for Hardik that he hasn't been considered to be the vice-captain even. There are huge expectations from Gautam Gambhir and everyone who swears by Indian cricket will only want him to take the team forward.