While Sreekumar Yadav has picked Hardik Pandya as T20I captain for India’s tour of Sri Lanka, former India batsman Mohammad Kaif believes the all-rounder is best suited to lead
the Indian team in the shortest format.
Shubman Gill has been appointed as the vice-captain of the T20Is team, replacing Hardik, who previously held the position as part of the lucrative marketing campaign for the 2024 World Cup. Speaking to IANS, Kaif made the following comments: The selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar should have preferred Hardik because of his expertise in the T20I starting lineup.
Hardik has been the captain of the Gujarat Titans for two years and in the first 12 months they reached the final… Hardik has the expertise to lead a T20I team and was vice-captain in the T20 World Cup.
Now there is a new coach, he will also be a great participant… He is the No. 1 player in T20, but I… I hope he will perform the captaincy duties well. I should have supported Hardik. Kaif said.
Gambhir is an experienced captain and coach…he understands cricket very well (captain),” Kaif further pointed out.
Hardik’s captaincy duties in T20Is came even before his injury in the final 12 months of the ODI World Cup, which saw him emerge as a mainstay in 16 T20Is.
Additionally, he led the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League for two seasons, although Gujarat finished second to Hardik in 2022 and 2023, but he led the team and captained the Mumbai Indians for the last 12 months. He changed to Rohit Sharma.
He has the expertise and an important factor is that he was captain in the IPL and led a brand new team (Gujarat Titans)(@gujarat_titans)with young faces to the cup, captain.”
