Indian cricketer turned commentator Akash Chopra He called for clarification on Hardik Pandya’s leadership role in the Indian cricket team. After India’s ICC T20 World Cup 2024 win in June, Hardik was expected to replace Rohit Sharma as the T20I captain following his retirement.
In the absence of Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya was the man to lead India in T20I cricket. The all-rounder has done an outstanding job as India’s captain, winning five of his six T20Is. But at the last minute, BCCI appointed Suryakumar Yadav as India’s new T20I captain for Sri Lanka. series.
Aakash Chopra calls for clarification on Hardik Pandya’s role in the Indian cricket team
Recently, Akhar Patel He was named vice-captain for the upcoming five-match T20I series against England, raising questions as to why Hardik was no longer considered for the lead. However, the Indian all-rounder is still part of the T20I squad for the upcoming home series against England.
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Meanwhile, Aakash Chopra questioned why Hardik Pandya’s leadership roles in the Indian cricket team were ignored. Highlighting his performance as both a player and a captain, Chopra said he is confident that Hardik will definitely play in the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
What happened to Hardik Pandya?: Aakash Chopra to BCCI
Aakash Chopra said on his YouTube channel, “What happened to Hardik Pandya? No one thinks or talks about him. What exactly happened to him? He will definitely go to the Champions Cup. He brings that balance. He had an exceptional T20 World Cup. He is the captain of Mumbai Indians. Led India in 6 T20I series and won five of them. When Rohit was not available, Hardik was the captain.”
Further, cricket expert Hardik expressed his shock that Pandya is completely off the captaincy radar as he is no longer the vice-captain. He emphasized that it was unfair to judge Hardik after one bad IPL season as Mumbai Indians captain.
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Aakash Chopra further explained, “What happened all of a sudden? He is not even the vice-captain. He is not talked about. Mumbai Indians had a bad reason, but you can’t blame Hardik for that. “Even if his performance and captaincy are bad, it has nothing to do with Indian cricket.”
Aakash Chopra says India’s captaincy does not depend on IPL performance
The former India batsman also pointed out that the captaincy of the Indian team is not decided on the basis of the IPL captaincy, so it is out of the question what happened to Pandya. Chopra feels that since the Indian cricket team is likely to have three different captains in the future, there should be clarity on whether Hardik can be considered for the captaincy.
Chopra said, “Indian team captaincy is not decided on the basis of franchise captaincy. If that was the case, it would have been different. There have been many captains who have led India despite not doing anything in the IPL. We are moving towards different captains in all three formats. Hardik is not even the vice-captain. and that’s a little surprising.”
