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'Koi Galat Kaam...,' Kaif's Cheeky Dig At Gambhir After Appointment Of SKY As T20I Captain Over Hardik Pandya

Suryakumar Yadav with Hardik Pandya (X.com)Suryakumar Yadav with Hardik Pandya (X.com)

The Indian team under new head coach Gautam Gambhir is on the brink of unleasing a new era, especially in T20Is with senior trio of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja retiring. 

It was expected that Hardik Pandya will take over the leadership role as he did in the absence of Rohit Sharma after T20 World Cup 2022, but selectors have gone with Suryakumar Yadav that has suprised quite a few people in the Indian cricketing circles.

Mohammed Kaif, the former Indian cricketer is one of them and expressed his views in an exlusive chat with IANS. 

Kaif stated that Hardik did brilliantly as captain of Gujarat Titans and also has the experience of captaining the T20I side, but felt that with new coach comming in, the planning is different and hoped that Suryakumar Yadav also does well in the leadership role. However, he mentioned that Hardik should have been backed as he was. the vice-captain in the T20 World Cup as well.

"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 credited Gambhir for his captaincy and coaching credentials but also went onto add that Hardik has not done anything wrong to be removed as captain. Kaif also added that Hardik Pandya's role in taking a young GT team to the pinnacle is commendable and he was due for India captaincy.

"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 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."

One of the major reasons for Hardik Pandya's removal as T20I captain, is his fitness issues, and Gambhir along with selectors probably wanted a stable player who they can trust to play all matches.