Hardik Pandya instigated by former India star to claim India's T20 captaincy from Suryakumar Yadav

India's star allrounder Hardik Pandya is probably one of the best finishers in white-ball cricket at the moment. The all-rounder is a big-match player and has the skillsets that can get him into any team in the world.

Hardik was about to become India's permanent captain in T20Is after Rohit Sharma retired from the format after India's T20 World Cup 2024 win. But the new team management under the head coach Gautam Gambhir decided the other way and gave Suryakumar Yadav the permanent captaincy role.

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has broken his silence on this matter and believes that Pandya must be feeling sad about not being given the captaincy. He also called Pandya irreplaceable given his valuable skills with bat and ball.

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Mohammad Kaif reflects on Hardik Pandya's rollercoaster journey

Mohammad Kaif heaped praises on Hardik and remembered his journey since the last year. He hailed him for coming out of the difficult period of IPL 2023 and helping India to a historic title win in the T20 World Cup 2024.

"People were after Hardik Pandya's life during IPL 2024. He faced a lot of brickbats; fans booed him at the Wankhede Stadium. He never spoke about his pain," Kaif said in a video on his X (formerly Twitter) account.

"He is the same player who bowled the final over of the T20 World Cup final to hand India the trophy. He cried his heart out after making India win. He never showed his emotions during the IPL when Mumbai Indians weren't performing well," he added.

Kaif also spoke about Pandya's unfortunate injury in the ODI World Cup 2023 and remembered how India were left to ponder about their combination. Without Pandya, the Men in Blue were severely affected as they didn't have any player to replace his skillsets.

"He got injured in Pune during the 2023 ODI World Cup. You didn't get a replacement for him. No player could have replaced him. Mohammed Shami bowled well, but India had only 7 batters and 4 bowlers. There was no eighth batter. Hardik Pandya is the backbone of this team. When he is injured, there is no replacement to be found," he noted.

Think Hardik deserves captaincy. India's most valuable white-ball player, genuine finisher, World Cup hero and not getting impacted by stadium abuse. Sub ko chup kara diya, True leader.#CricketwithKaif11 #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/zJr4VPblg8

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) February 1, 2025

"You don't have a player like Hardik Pandya" - Mohammad Kaif

Mohammad Kaif further expressed disappointment about Hardik Pandya not being India's captain despite having a good record in the IPL He feels that Pandya always gives his best and India does not have his replacement yet.

"He (Pandya) is not the captain right now. Do you think he doesn't feel bad? Isn't he human, and doesn't he feel anything? He is not even the vice-captain of this Indian team. Hardik is the captain of Mumbai Indians. He won the IPL with Gujarat Titans and then reached the final. But he isn't the captain of the Indian team. Suryakumar Yadav is the captain," said Kaif.

"Hardik is doing his role to the best of his ability. Hardik Pandya always gives his best. You cannot find anyone with his skill set when he gets injured. I think you don't have a player like Hardik Pandya. In the population of 1.4 billion, there is only one genuine all-rounder, and that is Hardik Pandya," he added.

Pandya led the Gujarat Titans to a title win in IPL 2022. The same team finished as the runners-up next season. However, he decided to move towards his former team Mumbai Indians the next season and he was appointed the captain of that franchise.

Hardik Pandya in India's Champions Trophy squad

Hardik is in India's squad for the upcoming Champions Trophy where he is the only fast bowling allrounder in the team. He hasn't played any ODI since the World Cup 2023 when he got injured against Bangladesh and was ruled out of the tournament.

However, he remains a vital part of India's squad with his exceptional hitting skills and the ability to bowl at a high pace. He gives the team the required balance which makes him such a valuable asset for his team.