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Suryakumar Yadav has rejected facing any issues working with Hardik Pandya despite the captaincy juggling between them.
Suryakumar Yadav (L) and Hardik Pandya.
T20I skipper Suryakumar Yadav said he shares a ‘really great’ relationship with all-rounder Hardik Pandya and the duo’s visions for India’s future is aligned despite the captaincy juggling between them from international cricket to IPL.
Pandya was being seen as India’s future T20I captain when Rohit Sharma focussed on ODIs during the 2022-23 season. However, after the 2023 ODI World Cup, Rohit returned and led India to the 2024 T20 title.
In the same year, Pandya replaced Rohit as Mumbai Indians’ captain. When Rohit retired from T20Is, India made Suryakumar the skipper, creating a situation where Pandya was leading him in the IPL and vice-versa in internationals.
“The relationship with him has been really great. We’ve been playing [together] for a really long time. I still remember that from 2018, when I went back to Mumbai Indians [we first played together] and [it’s the same] till today,” Suryakumar said in a press conference in Kolkata ahead of India’s first T20I against England on Wednesday.
“It’s just that the added responsibility that I’ve got [here]. When we go back to franchise cricket, I can get to be quiet and relax for a little bit. But we’ve been good friends on the field and we know what we want going forward with the India team,” he added.
In this series, Pandya was in contention to be Suryakumar’s deputy but the team chose all-rounder Axar Patel instead. But the skipper played it down, saying Pandya was part of the leadership group too.
“Axar has been given that added responsibility. We saw what he did in the 2024 T20 World Cup, he’s been with the team for a very long time. At the same time, Hardik is also part of the leading group. When we sit, we decide what we want to do with the team going forward and even on the field, he is always around. We have a lot of captains on the ground.”
The first T20I will be played at Eden Gardens. There will be four more T20Is in the series before three ODIs, where Pandya will play under Rohit’s captaincy again, with Shubman Gill as the vice-captain.
