Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh has expressed surprise at Hardik Pandya not being made the captain of the T20 International team. After Rohit’s retirement from this format, Hardik was a strong contender to become the captain in his place. He was India’s vice-captain when they won the T20 World Cup in June. However, BCCI took a surprising decision by demanding captaincy from Suryakumar Yadav.
It’s not worth ignoring the heart
Harbhajan recently said during a conversation that it is not right to ignore Hardik for captaincy. He said, ‘I was surprised. I was somewhat disappointed. He was your vice-captain. When Rohit Sharma is no longer the captain, your vice-captain will become the captain. But if you tell them on the basis of fitness that you cannot become captain because you cannot play the whole year, then T20 cricket is not played even the whole year.
Losing the captaincy is a big blow.
Harbhajan further said, ‘Losing the captaincy will be a big blow for Hardik. He had come after winning the T20 World Cup and suddenly all this happened, which is a big shock for him. This is not correct. I respect Suryakumar Yadav a lot. He is a great player and plays unselfishly.
BCCI last week announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming three-match T20 series against Bangladesh. This team will be led by Suryakumar Yadav. The three matches will be played on 6 October (Gwalior), 9 October (New Delhi) and 12 October (Hyderabad). Hardik, Washington Sundar and Shivam Dubey have been included in the team as all-rounders.
Indian team for Bangladesh T20I series
Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dubey, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakraborty, Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav.