Hardik Pandya vs Suryakumar Yadav! Ex-India captain claims 'it's absolutely fair' to give T20I captaincy to....

Former India women's captain Anjum Chopra has backed Hardik Pandya to become India's next T20I captain. Recently, Rohit Sharma retired from the T20I format after the conclusion of T20 World Cup 2024, where India emerged as the champions.

Hardik Pandya was India's vice-captain in the T20 World Cup 2024 and was seen as the potential successor for Rohit Sharma in the role. But reports have emerged that Suryakumar Yadav will be given India's captaincy given Hardik's history of injury concerns and to manage his workload management.

While Hardik Pandya has led India in 16 matches and India won 10 out of them, Suryakumar Yadav has been India's captain in 7 matches, and India emerged victorious in 5 out of them.

Also read: Hardik Pandya breaks silence for the 1st time after Suryakumar Yadav's name pops up for India captaincy

Anjum Chopra backs Hardik Pandya to be India's next T20I captain

During an interview with Mykhel.com, Anjum Chopra was clear about her choice for India's next T20I captain. Anjum believes that Hardik is the nominated vice-captain of the side, so he deserves the first chance at the captaincy.

"No, I don't have any thoughts on it because I think he was the nominated captain. I mean, I don't have a thought against it or for it, because the reason was the nominated captain for the Indian team because he got injured. Then Surya took over in South Africa. If I remember correctly earlier this year in South Africa. So I think last year before the World Cup happened, he was the one who was chosen as the captain. You would want to give it to Hardik first," Anjum Chopra stated.

However, Anjum Chopra also added that it's not necessary to promote a vice-captain for the role of captaincy but the appointment needs to be fair. She feels that Hardik Pandya will take the job of captaincy since it will be a fair decision.

"I think Hardik (Pandya) will take the mantle" - Anjum Chopra

"I don't pay much heed to the fact. I mean, you can always have a vice-captain getting promoted, but I think it's because Hardik was the nominated captain, that's why he was given the vice-captaincy role and that's fair," Chopra said.

"I think, yeah, Hardik will take the mantle. As I said last year, he was a nominated captain, he got injured, did not play and all those things but I feel it's absolutely fair to give it to him. If India selectors had not given it to him, and given it to Surya, then my answer would have been Surya. But then they've given it to him. So I think one should go back to him and give that respect and honour," Anjum explained.

The selectors are considering Hardik Pandya for the role of India's white-ball captaincy (especially T20I cricket) for a long time now. Hardik is also India's designated vice-captain at the moment. He was Rohit Sharma's deputy in the 2023 ODI World Cup as well. But his poor fitness record hasn't gone in his favor.

However, Hardik Pandya played a key role in India's T20 World Cup 2024 win recently. The all-rounder was exceptional with both bat and ball. He scored 144 runs at an average of 48 and a strike rate of 151.57. Pandya picked up 11 wickets in the tournament at an average of 17.36 and an economy rate of 7.64.