Hardik Pandya has not done anything wrong that he should not get the captaincy: Mohammad Kaif

While Mohammad Kaif hoped that India's new T20I captain, Suryakumar Yadav, would be able to lead the team to great heights, he explained why Hardik Pandya could have been the better choice.

On Thursday, July 18, BCCI dropped several bombshells while announcing their squads for the impending white-ball tour of Sri Lanka. One of the biggest revelations was the appointment of Suryakumar as captain of the T20I squad. Hardik was the vice-captain during India's triumphant T20 World Cup-winning campaign last month. He was expected to replace Rohit Sharma, who announced his retirement from the format following the final. However, Suryakumar pipped the Baroda all-rounder in the end to take up the prestigious role.

Also Read: India announces T20I and ODI squads for Sri Lanka tour, Suryakumar Yadav named new T20I captain

Kaif respected Suryakumar's exceptional batting talent but felt that Hardik's experience as a leader should have been taken into consideration.

"Hardik has captained the Gujarat Titans for 2 years and in their first year itself, they made it to the final... Hardik has experience captaining the T20I side. He was also the vice-captain at the T20 World Cup. Now, a new coach has arrived, there will be new planning. Surya is also a good player, he has been playing for years. He is a no.1 T20 player, I hope he will shoulder the captain's responsibility well. But, I feel they should have backed Hardik," Kaif said as quoted by TOI.

"Gambhir is the experienced captain and coach... He understands cricket very well. I think 'Hardik ne aisa koi galat kaam nhi kia k unko captaincy na mile' (Hardik has not done anything wrong that he should not get the captaincy)," Kaif further said.

Under Hardik's leadership, Gujarat Titans won the IPL in 2022 and finished runners-up in 2023. He moved to Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2024 and replaced Rohit at the helm. However, the five-time champions finished last. The 30-year-old has led India in 16 matches and the team won 10 of them. Meanwhile, Suryakumar hasn't had captaincy experience in the IPL but has led the Men in Blue in seven matches, out of which five have yielded wins.

"He has experience, has captained in the IPL and leading a new team (Gujarat Titans) to trophy, with fresh and young faces, is a huge thing. He has made the Titans win by working from Ground Zero in the IPL...I think he was entitled to the captaincy. So let's just wait and see," Kaif added.

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The former India cricketer also feels that fitness concerns may have played a role in the selectors' call to not appoint Hardik as the captain.