Someone ask the BCCI what changed in 15 days. On June 29, Hardik Pandya was the biggest hero, and for a good reason. The all-rounder was going through a rough patch after facing an unfortunate injury in the ODI World Cup 2023 that ruled him out for six months. After getting back to full fitness, he faced the ire of fans for leaving the Gujarat Titans and replacing Rohit Sharma as Mumbai Indians captain. But he rose above all that and took the India cricket team to the 2024 T20 World Cup trophy.
You would think his performance, combined with his being the T20I vice-captain and Rohit announcing his retirement, would mean that he’d be named India’s new T20I captain. Well, think again. Suryakumar Yadav, someone who played under him in the IPL 2024, may just leapfrog him to become the long-term skipper and lead the Men in Blue in the T20 World Cup 2026.
What did Hardik do wrong? Is it his attitude that irked someone? Are his accomplishments not good enough? Isn’t he the biggest match-winner India currently has? Hasn’t he done well as a captain in the IPL and international cricket? It may prove that despite having it all that one needs, ‘a catch‘ would ruin his dream of leading the Indian team. The question is, why? What could be the reason behind this snub?
Captaincy acumen
Suryakumar Yadav has led the Indian cricket team in 7 matches and has a positive record (5-2), but he did so when Hardik Pandya wasn’t available and Rohit Sharma-Virat Kohli weren’t in the T20I fray. All of these matches came last year after the ODI World Cup 2023, and five of these games were against a second-string Australian team. In the IPL, he’s just gotten the chance to lead the Mumbai Indians once, and that too when Rohit Sharma wasn’t available.
Hardik Pandya, on the other hand, has done everything to show that he’s been the next in line since the disastrous 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal exit. He doesn’t have the best T20I resume but has beaten a full-strength New Zealand. But his IPL record is astounding. In two seasons with the Gujarat Titans, he took them to two finals and lifted the title in his first season as captain. His last season as Mumbai Indians captain was a train wreck, but given how everyone was against him, his failure wasn’t exactly a shock.
Suryakumar Yadav vs Hardik Pandya: IPL & T20I captaincy record
| Captain | Matches | Won | Lost | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suryakumar Yadav | 8 | 6 | 2 | 75 |
| Hardik Pandya | 61 | 36 | 25 | 59.01 |
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Pecking order
We’ve seen over the years that the Indian management has a pecking order. By which the players already in line get a chance first. But in Hardik’s case, that might not be the case. After waiting for his turn for the last two years, the all-rounder will now lose the chance to lead the Indian team to Suryakumar Yadav.
As mentioned above, Hardik was Rohit’s deputy at the T20 World Cup. So why are the rules that have been set since Virat Kohli was the captain being changed? Is it due to a change in head coach?
KKR advantage?
We all know that Suryakumar Yadav blossomed in the IPL under Gautam Gambhir’s captaincy. He was bought by the Mumbai Indians (MI) in 2011 but played just 1 match for them in 3 years. In complete contrast, when he went to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in 2014, he got ample opportunities. He played 54 matches for them in his four seasons, and it was that platform that took him to great heights when he rejoined MI in 2018.
In all the seasons he spent with KKR, Gambhir was the captain, and when the southpaw left with the franchise the next year, so did Surya. So, is this old friendship lending him an upper hand when it comes to India’s T20I captaincy?
If not Hardik Pandya, why not Jasprit Bumrah?
Okay, you don’t want to make Hardik Pandya, arguably the world’s best white-ball all-rounder, so if not him, why not make the world’s best bowlers your T20I captain? If you ask someone who won India the T20 World Cup, they’ll say Bumrah. So, if Hardik isn’t picked for one reason or another, why isn’t Bumrah the next best candidate?
The pacer has led a full-strength Indian team in England, albeit in a Test match. No one can question his cricketing brain either. From bowling off-cutter, inch-perfect yorkers, using the angles, and mastering all-phase bowling in T20s, Bumrah knows all too well and has proven he’s an excellent reader of the game.
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