Star batter preferred choice of new coach Gambhir and chief selector Agarkar over Pandya
NEW DELHI: Ahead of India's white-ball tour of Sri Lanka, the national selectors and new head coach Gautam Gambhir are contemplating taking a hard call on appointing the captain for T20Is.
TOI understands that the think-tank has to decide between Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav. According to sources, Surya has been deemed as a more stable candidate to lead the team.
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"Hardik was the natural successor of Rohit Sharma since he has been the vice-captain. But the selection committee and Gambhir are leaning towards Surya. The argument is the uncertainty over Hardik's availability in every series that India plays. They want a stable captain going forward with the T20 World Cup in 2026," a BCCI source told TOI.
Hardik's workload has been a major issue over the last five years and rarely has he played back-to-back series. It may be noted that Gambhir has previously worked with Surya at Kolkata Knight Riders in 2014 and had even promoted him to vice-captaincy. Surya has been the top T20 batter in the world for a while now.
"The coach and selectors spoke to both players on Tuesday evening. The scenario had to be made clear. It will be up to Hardik to reassure the management about his availability. A final call will be taken in the selection meeting soon," the source said.
Hardik has already recused himself from the three ODIs in Sri Lanka citing personal reasons. It will be also interesting to see who will be made the ODI captain since Rohit has also asked for a break.
KL Rahul has led the Indian team before. He could be a leading contender with both Rohit and Bumrah unavailable for the tour. The management will have to decide if they want to continue with Rahul or invest in grooming a future captain like Shubman Gill.
