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Former India fielding coach R. Sridhar believes that Hardik Pandya will return to the Indian team despite his absence from the current ODI series against Sri Lanka.
Sridhar emphasized that a player like Hardik Pandya is rare and should be utilized effectively by the team.
Hardik has had a challenging few months but played a crucial role in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 victory. He served as Rohit Sharma’s deputy during the tournament and was anticipated to succeed Rohit as captain.
However, the selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir, opted for Suryakumar Yadav as the new T20I captain due to Hardik’s history of injuries and fitness issues. Consequently, Hardik was removed from the leadership group, with Suryakumar Yadav appointed as captain and Shubman Gill as vice-captain.
R. Sridhar Addresses Hardik Pandya’s Exclusion from T20I Captaincy
In an interview with Hindustan Times, R. Sridhar expressed confidence that Hardik Pandya will return to India’s limited-overs teams. He emphasized that Hardik is vital for India’s success and urged the board to manage his fitness carefully to ensure his participation in future major ICC tournaments.
“I am sure Hardik will come back. He has just won you a World Cup, bowling that too, crucial overs between 16 and 20. The last over obviously was fabulous from an Indian perspective. If he has got niggles, he will come back like how he has before,” Sridhar said.
“But Hardik is somebody rare to find, a cricketer like him is rare to find. We can take good care of him till the time he is playing cricket and making sure he is available for the marquee series and all the big ICC tournaments,” he added.
Following India’s defeat to England by 10 wickets in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022, senior players such as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were left out of the T20I squads. Hardik Pandya then stepped up as the frontrunner for India’s T20I captaincy. Over the course of 16 T20Is under Pandya’s leadership, India secured victories in 10 matches.
Ongoing injury issues have sidelined Hardik Pandya from the captaincy race.
Hardik Pandya’s persistent fitness issues have kept him out of several key matches for India, including a recent injury during the ODI World Cup 2023. While his absence was not heavily felt throughout most of the tournament, his presence was notably missed in the final against Australia, where his contribution with both bat and ball could have been crucial.
Due to his ongoing injury concerns, the selectors decided to revert to Rohit Sharma for the T20 World Cup 2024. Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returned to the T20I squad for the series against Bangladesh earlier this year, but they announced their retirements from the format following the T20 World Cup 2024.
Looking ahead, Hardik Pandya is expected to participate in the upcoming domestic white-ball matches for Baroda. He is anticipated to bowl his full quota of overs to demonstrate his fitness for 50-over cricket.
