The BCCI on Thursday announced the squad for the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka, starting on July 27. This tour will mark the debut of Gautam Gambhir as the new head coach of the Men in Blue. The most notable selection decision was the appointment of Suryakumar Yadav as the new T20I captain, surpassing Hardik Pandya, who was widely expected to be handed leadership after Rohit Sharma retired from the format.

Hardik Pandya was the vice-captain of the Indian squad that won the title at the T20 World Cup. However, both Gautam Gambhir and chief selector Ajit Agarkar believed that Suryakumar Yadav should be named the new captain, with an eye on the T20 World Cup 2026, which will be jointly hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

Former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif criticized the decision, arguing that the Indian team management should have backed Hardik Pandya for the captaincy role given his prior experience leading a T20 team.

“Hardik led the Gujarat Titans to the finals twice and won the title as well. Hardik also has experience leading the Indian T20I side and served as vice-captain at the T20 World Cup. With a new coach, there will likely be some strategic changes. Surya, an experienced and highly-ranked T20 player, is a strong candidate. However, I feel the team should have continued backing Hardik as the captain, given his prior success and leadership experience,” opined Kaif to IANS.

“Gambhir, an experienced captain and a sharp mind, understands the sport accurately. Therefore, I believe Hardik has not done anything wrong,” he added.

“If you look at his IPL record, he lifted the title with a fresh, young GT squad, which was a remarkable feat,” he concluded.