‘They Could’ve Said It Straight That ‘We’re Dropping Pandya as Captain’: Ex-Selector’s Blunt Remark on Agarkar, Gambhir Presser

Hardik Pandya’s demotion raised quite a few eyebrows as the Indian team management appointed Suryakumar Yadav as the T20I skipper for the Sri Lanka tour. Pandya was expected to take over after Rohit Sharma, along with Virat Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, hung up his boots from the shortest format after winning the T20I World Cup in the Caribbean last month. However, Suryakumar pipped Pandya to take the leadership role.

Ajit Agarkar, chief of men’s selection committee, didn’t hide the reason behind this move. Addressing a press conference with newly-appointed head coach Gautam Gambhir on Monday, Agarkar said Pandya’s frequent injury absences made them name Suryakumar as the new leader.

Former India captain K Srikkanth didn’t agree with the theory presented by Agarkar and Gambhir to explain Pandya’s demotion. Speaking on his YouTube channel, the Srikkanth ruled out the fitness issue and added that the Agarkar-Gambhir duo should have said it ‘fearlessly’ that they have dropped the all-rounder as captain.

“I think they have gone from the feedback of the dressing room. It must have probably been from the IPL. Fitness is something that I will not agree. He played the entire IPL. He also bowled. Yes, he might not have done well (in the IPL). That’s another issue. Mumbai Indians didn’t qualify. At the World Cup, he was the vice-captain and he played well. So, fitness is something that I won’t agree with,” Srikkanth said.

“Suryakumar is a fantastic person. I like him. So is Hardik. But the reasons that they are giving, they could have said it in a straightforward manner ‘we are dropping Hardik Pandya as captain, we want to move forward. We are looking at Suryakumar as a long term’. Make it clear. Say it without fear,” he added.

Gambhir and Agarkar were on the same page regarding India’s T20I captaincy with the duo emphasizing Suryakumar Yadav was a deserving candidate for the role.

“Hardik is always an important player for us. Those skillsets are hard to find. Fitness has been a challenge with him. Hopefully his performances are more important than anything else. We want someone who is likely to be available more often than not. Saying all that, Surya has got all the necessary qualities to be the captain,” Agarkar had said at the presser.