Once considered Rohit Sharma’s most ideal successor in white-ball cricket, Hardik Pandya now just witnesses others switching over vice-captaincy roles, since Gautam Gambhir sidelined his leadership hopes, citing injury concerns of the veteran all-rounder.
Years before Rohit Sharma retired from the shortest format of the game or even won the T20 World Cup, Hardik Pandya, the all-rounder, was considered his most likely successor in the T20I format. However, as soon as Rohit announced his retirement, Suryakumar Yadav was brought into a captaincy role while Hardik was sidelined.
Hardik Pandya was India’s vice-captain in the T20 World Cup, and after Rohit Sharma announced his retirement, everyone anticipated the captaincy to be handed to Pandya, but Gambhir once again shocked all with his choices, as he cited Pandya had injury concerns, which was not preferable for a captain’s role.
Your daily dose of cricket!
Once seen as Rohit’s successor, Hardik Pandya is no more in the leadership frame under Gautam Gambhir
The Indian selectors are yet to announce the final squad for the upcoming Asia Cup; however, with Suryakumar Yadav’s speedy recovery on the track at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, Hardik Pandya’s leadership goals are cut short once again.
The all-rounder was recently spotted at the BCCI CoE, where he underwent fitness Tests to declare himself fit ahead of the continental championship. However, what seemed further shocking was that ever since Gambhir took over as the Indian head coach, Pandya has not even been assigned a vice-captain role.
According to a PTI report, Gambhir’s arrival dimmed Hardik Pandya’s chances further, and the Agarkar-led panel was also unsure of his tactical nous as an international captain.
Shubman Gill was the vice-captain, while in his absence, Axar Patel took over as the vice-captain in the England series, which followed earlier this year. Pandya, despite his impressive track record, was nowhere in the leadership frame.
Shubman Gill is claiming strong grounds in Leadership roles for India
Shubman Gill, just 2 months after he was appointed India’s red-ball skipper, is already soaring high on the leadership stock. He recently finished his debut assignment as India’s full-time skipper and has drawn immense praise for his efforts.
Shubman Gill was the T20I vice-captain announced alongside Suryakumar Yadav last year, and this time around as well, rumours have claimed the head coach Gautam Gambhir and Ajit Agarkar are looking to have him back in the Indian T20I side and offer him a leadership role.
“Gill has built an aura similar to what Virat had in 2017,” former selector Devang Gandhi told The Times of India. “He has reacted to captaincy as well as Virat did. Ajit Agarkar has shown great foresight by appointing Gill as Test captain. There’s no reason why Gill shouldn’t be in a leadership role in T20S. The messaging has to be clear about who takes over after Surya.”
Hardik Pandya’s success as T20I skipper ignored by Indian selectors
The toughest pill to swallow for the 30-year-old Mumbai Indians all-rounder is his recent poor performances under crunch situations in crucial matches, which matter the most. Pandya, though, has built his career on resilience and now has to fight to retain his spot.
However, for India, the irony is that they have no replacement of Pandya calibre. A finisher who can finish the game with big hits, a middle-order batter who can save the innings for you, a bowler who can win matches, and a unique brain on the field who can suggest unique approaches to the skipper, Pandya has it all.
ALSO READ: BCCI ends suspense on India’s captain for Asia Cup 2025
