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Suryakumar Yadav has been leading India T20I team since the Australia series in 2023 and recently Axar Patel has been appointed as the vice-captain.
Hardik Pandya last captained India during West Indies tour of 2023. (PTI Photo)
Former India opener Aakash Chopra has said that the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee should explain why allrounder Hardik Pandya has been driven out from the T20I leadership group. Pandya last led India during the West Indies T20I series in 2023 post which Suryakumar Yadav was elevated to the role before Rohit Sharma’s return for the Afghanistan series at home in 2024 and the T20 World Cup last year.
With Rohit announcing T20I retirement after leading India to world cup triumph, Suryakumar has been handed over the reins of the team in the shortest format.
Allrounder Axar Patel was recently named as the vice-captain for the upcoming five-match T20I series against England at home which raises further questions over why Pandya has been sidelined.
“It’s a development that needs an official word,” Chopra wrote on X (formerly Twitter) while responding to a query. “He (Pandya) was leading India in Rohit’s absence. Now, he’s not even the VC. I’d like to hear from the selectors about their thought process.”
It’s a development that needs an official word. He was leading India in Rohit’s absence. Now, he’s not even the VC.I’d like to hear from the selectors about their thought process. https://t.co/ArykkbTBz5— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) January 12, 2025
It’s been speculated that Pandya’s fitness concerns could’ve played a key role in the selectors picking Suryakumar as Rohit’s successor.
Pandya picked up a freak injured midway through the 2023 ODI World Cup which pushed him away from action for nearly four months. He made his competitive return in a local T20 tournament in February 2024.
However, since then he captained Mumbai Indians in IPL, played a key role in India’s triumph at the T20 World Cup, played in a home series against Bangladesh between the tours of Sri Lanka and South Africa.
India will take on England in a five-match T20I series starting January 22. The squad features Mohammed Shami who will be making his international comeback having spent a significant period recovering from an ankle issue.
Another significant development is the absence of wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant who hasn’t played T20Is since the tour of Sri Lanka in July last year. The selectors have gone with Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel.
