Why was Suryakumar handed over the command of Team India? The big revelation in this report about Hardik Pandya

The T20 and ODI series between India and Sri Lanka starting later this month will start a new chapter of Indian cricket. Under the guidance of new head coach Gautam Gambhir, the team will embark on a mission to achieve more achievements. However, there have been many major changes in India's T20 team for this series. After the T20 World Cup 2024 victory and after Rohit Sharma retired from the format, it was believed that designated vice-captain Hardik Pandya would be promoted to captain. However, this did not happen.

The selectors took a shocking decision and made Surya the captain. Now there is a lot of talk about why Hardik was not made the captain. A big revelation has been made in a report by the Indian Express regarding this. The report claims that the feeling of discomfort about Hardik in the minds of the players helped make Suryakumar the captain. Hardik has not even been named the vice-captain. Shubman Gill will be the vice-captain in both ODI and T20 series.

Suryakumar managed to win the trust of the players.

It was believed that Pandya's fitness could largely be the reason behind his removal from captaincy. However, now the Indian Express report claims that the vote went in Suryakumar's favor due to the players' trust. The report claims that the 'feedback' that the BCCI received is that the players trusted Yadav more than Pandya and were comfortable playing with him. The report claims that the selection meeting, which lasted several hours over two days, was unlike any other meeting, as there were heated debates and differences of opinion. Calls were made to players who were included in the long-term plans of the selectors.

The selectors liked this quality of Suryakumar.

The report further claims that Suryakumar's human management skills impressed the BCCI selectors. When Ishan Kishan was about to leave the Indian team in the middle of the South Africa tour last year, it is said that Suryakumar tried to convince him to stay back. It is said that he has spoken to fringe players to take advantage of the opportunities. Another school of thought is that Suryakumar's style of talking is like Rohit's and players are comfortable talking to him. This is also being cited as the reason behind giving him preference over Hardik. The report also states that Hardik, the vice-captain of the T20 World Cup-winning team that bowled the historic last over in the final against South Africa, was informed about their decision by Agarkar and Gambhir on Tuesday.

Hardik got injured a lot in the last two years.

Hardik was also the vice-captain in the 50-over World Cup last year before his injury. However, now Shubman Gill has been appointed vice-captain in both formats, making it clear that the selection committee and Gambhir want to think beyond Hardik as a leadership option. Hardik's frequent injuries also went against him. He has played 46 out of a total of 79 T20 Internationals for India since January 1, 2022. At the same time, Suryakumar did not play only a few matches during this period. That was too because he had undergone surgery for a sports hernia. Surya led the team in the T20 series in November last year, helping them beat Australia 4-1 and then played a 1-1 draw in South Africa.