Hyderabad: Former India cricketer Sanjay Bangar has opined that not handing Hardik Pandya the leadership role for the Sri Lanka series was a little bit of injustice with the Indian all-rounder. He also pointed out that it seemed at one point of time that if Rohit hadn't been chosen as a captain, Hardik would lead the team.
Hardik carved a brilliant comeback in the recently concluded T20 World Cup playing a pivotal role in India’s title run. The all-rounder turned out to be a hero after being booed by the crowd in the Indian Premier League by scoring 144 runs and taking 11 wickets in the tournament. After his heroic performances, there were reports that he would be elected as India's next captain in the T20Is as Rohit stepped away from the format.
However, the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee appointed Suryakumar Yadav as the T20I skipper raising many eyebrows. Bangar has also expressed his views on the decision saying that it was an injustice to Hardik.
"It's not that Suryakumar Yadav has played less domestic cricket before playing international cricket. So he has a lot of experience, I think he has led Mumbai in domestic cricket as well and knows how to extract the best from the players," he opined on Star Sports show 'Follow the Blues'.
"So there is nothing wrong in Suryakumar being made the captain. I fully believe that he will do a good job but I still feel a little injustice has been meted out to Hardik," the former India batting coach added.
Hardik has led the Indian side to 10 wins from 16 T20Is. Also, he has been a successful captain by leading Gujarat Titans to the title in 2022 and also leading them to the final in 2023. His only captaincy stint which turned out to be poor was for Mumbai Indians in 2024 when the team finished at the last position in the points table.
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