Former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif came in to support all-rounder Hardik Pandya for T20I captaincy after Suryakumar Yadav was named captain fir the Sri Lanka tour. Interestingly, instead of Hardik, who was the vice-captain during T20 World Cup, Shubhman Gill has been selected as the new T20I vice-captain. While speaking to IANS, Kaif said that the selection panel led by Ajit Agarkar should have supported Hardik, since he had a prior experience leading the T20I side.
“Hardik has captained the Gujarat Titans for 2 years and in their first year itself, they made it to the final… Hardik has experience captaining the T20I side. He was also the vice-captain at the T20 World Cup. Now, a new coach has arrived, there will be new planning. Surya is also a good player, he has been playing for years. He is a no.1 T20 player, I hope he will shoulder the captain’s responsibility well. But, I feel they should have backed Hardik…” Kaif said.
“Gambhir is the experienced captain and coach… He understands cricket very well. I think ‘Hardik ne aisa koi galat kaam nhi kia k unko captaincy na mile‘ (Hardik has not done anything wrong that he should not get the captaincy),” he further added.
Apart from leading Gujarat Titans and Mumbai Indians in the IPL, Hardik has also led India in 3 ODIs and 16 T20Is.
“He has experience, has captained in the IPL and leading a new team (Gujarat Titans) to trophy, with fresh and young faces, is a huge thing. He has made the Titans win by working from Ground Zero in the IPL…I think he was entitled to the captaincy. So let’s just wait and see,” Kaif further added.
Kaif also feels fitness concerns to be a major factor in the decision made by selection panel for not considering Hardik for the role of captain.
