Ajit Agarkar openly opposed Hardik Pandya as India's T20I captain due to..

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently removed Hardik Pandya from the leadership role for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour. Selection Committee chief Ajit Agarkar was concerned about Hardik Pandya's tactical skills as a captain, especially following a challenging stint with the Mumbai Indians (MI).

Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from T20I cricket following India's T20 World Cup 2024 win in Barbados on June 29. Hardik Pandya, who was vice-captain during the T20 World Cup, was expected to be a potential successor. However, the BCCI recently picked Suryakumar Yadav as the new T20I captain.

Suryakumar Yadav will lead the Indian team in the upcoming three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka. The first T20I match is scheduled to be played at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium on Saturday, July 27. This will also be the first assignment for Gautam Gambhir as head coach of the national cricket team.

According to the latest reports, the decision to appoint Suryakumar Yadav as the T20I captain was made jointly by Ajit Agarkar and Gautam Gambhir. Hardik Pandya was informed of this decision before the Board of Control for Cricket in India officially announced the squad for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka.

Ajit Agarkar Not Impressed by Hardik Pandya's Captaincy - Report

The media reported that Indian team members favored Suryakumar over Hardik for the T20I captaincy, following his stint in South Africa last December. Gambhir reportedly preferred Suryakumar due to concerns about Hardik's fitness. However, PTI reported that Ajit Agarkar had doubts about Hardik's tactical skills.

Hardik Pandya captained the Gujarat Titans (GT) in the IPL for 2022 and 2023, leading the team to the finals in both years. He won the title in 2022 but lost to MS Dhoni’s CSK in 2023. Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra provided significant support, helping Pandya and the team achieve success during his tenure.

South African great Mark Boucher, who was the head coach of the Mumbai Indians, did not provide the same level of support to Hardik as Ashish Nehra did. However, the Mumbai Indians struggled under Hardik's captaincy in the recent season. The MI team became the first team to be eliminated from the IPL 2024.

Still Feel A Litte Injustice Has Been Meted To Hardik Pandya - Sanjay Bangar

On the Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues,' Sanjay Bangar said that Hardik Pandya has been unfairly treated by the selectors. Bangar acknowledged Suryakumar Yadav's experience, including his domestic captaincy. However, Bangar still felt that Hardik was treated unjustly in this decision.

"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," the former India batting coach added.

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