Gautam Gambhir is all set to take charge of his debut series as Team India head coach and in his first big call as the coach of the side, Gambhir decided to overlook Hardik Pandya and opted for Suryakumar Yadav to be named the new captain of Indian T20I side after Rohit Sharma‘s retirement.
As Gautam Gambhir and Team India geared up to jet to Sri Lanka to kickstart their Tour of 3 T20Is and 3 ODIs, Hardik Pandya despite not being given captaincy or vice captaincy of the Indian T20 side met up with Gautam Gambhir’s staff in jovial manner.
Hardik Pandya greets Gautam Gambhir‘s staff
As Indian team gathered on the buss to travel to Sri Lanka for the T20I series starting from 27th July, Hardik Pandya arrived and greeted Team India’s new assistant coach Abhishek Nayar with a warm hug.
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Hardik Pandya was in the best of spirits as he seemed to understand Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar’s decision to not hand him the captaincy.
Agarkar explains why they chose Surya over Hardik
BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar explained in the press conference that Hardik Pandya is extremely important for India despite not being made captain. Agarkar said Suryakumar Yadav has great cricketing sense and given Pandya’s injury concerns they wanted a captain that is available for most of games.
“Fitness is a clear challenge and we want someone who is available more often than not. Having said that, we believe Surya has the qualities necessary to be a captain. We also feel we can manage Hardik better, we’ve seen what he can do with the bat and ball in the World Cup,” said Ajit Agarkar.
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India vs Sri Lanka Schedule
- First T20I: July 27, PICS (Pallekele) – 7 PM IST
- Second T20I: July 28, PICS (Pallekele) – 7 PM IST
- Third T20I: July 30, PICS (Pallekele) – 7 PM IST
- First ODI: August 2, RPICS (Colombo) – 2.30 PM IST
- Second ODI: August 4, RPICS (Colombo) – 2.30 PM IST
- Third ODI: August 7, RPICS (Colombo) – 2.30 PM IST
India’s T20I Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Ꮪhubman Gill (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Riyan Parag, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohd. Siraj.
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