In the grand scheme of things, the significant vice captain of India’s recent T20 World Cup-winning campaign in the Americas would be just another common man.
Hardik Pandya was long seen as Rohit Sharma’s inevitable replacement as India’s white-ball skipper should the latter opt to end his limited-overs international career. It now seems unlikely that Pandya will be able to add to his record of 16 Twenty20 Internationals captained.
Ajit Agarkar’s national selection panel has put their faith in Suryakumar Yadav for the three-match series in Sri Lanka later this month as India begin the post-Rohit phase in the shortest form. The influential vice-captain during India’s raging charge to the T20 World Cup title in the Americas last month will be just another foot soldier in the larger scheme of things. Shubman Gill, who will also be Rohit’s deputy in the three 50-over games that follow, has been named vice captain, another telltale sign that Pandya isn’t quite the flavor of the season. Pandya has to accept that Gill is being prepared for the future while he continues to be the team’s best all-around player—a significant honor in and of itself, but undoubtedly far less than the driven Vadodara native would have desired.
It is difficult to measure the extent to which Gautam Gambhir, the new head coach, influenced the course of events, but it is inconceivable that the selectors made the decision on their own without having a thorough and constructive dialogue with Rahul Dravid’s replacement. Given Gambhir’s reputation for putting emotion aside and advocating for difficult decisions, no matter how unpleasant or unpopular they may seem, it wouldn’t be shocking if he played a major role in pushing Suryakumar to the front in anticipation of the upcoming T20 World Cup, which will be held in India in 2026.
Pandya’s workload and fitness issues appear to have tipped the scales in favor of Suryakumar, who has captained the nation in seven Twenty20 Internationals and has a 5-2 winning record. Pandya has missed 33 of India’s 79 20-over matches since the start of 2022. Although he will continue to be a vital component of the team, his unavoidable and persistent injuries prevent him from providing the steadiness that is needed at any level of leadership.
Pandya has every right to believe that he was treated unfairly, especially in light of his outstanding performance during the World Cup. He particularly stood out in the final when, under duress, he produced the strikes that significantly changed where the trophy ended up. His leadership abilities are undeniable; he not only guided India to ten victories in the 20-over format but also guided Gujarat Titans to the Indian Premier League title on their debut in 2022 and the final in 2023. He even courted disaster in a similar manner on his return to the Mumbai Indians earlier this season after unseat Rohit from the captaincy position. He has proven to be a creative, perceptive, and inclusive leader with a flare for the unconventional and implicit faith in his soldiers, but he has been betrayed by an uncooperative body that has limited his Test career to just 11 matches.
It remains to be seen how Pandya responds to this unquestionable setback. It is highly likely that the individuals who made the decisions gave an explanation of their reasoning prior to officially appointing Suryakumar as the new head. Pandya is shrewd enough to see the selectors’ and the head coach’s points of view, and even though he may disagree, he also understands that there is little he can do about it. Even though his immediate focus must be on improving his cricket and building on the fantastic form he showed with bat and ball during the World Cup, he may still have aspirations of returning to the captaincy spotlight because he is only thirty years old and a firm believer in never saying never.
It’s also unclear how all of this will impact his time with the Mumbai Indians. It’s unclear who the five-time past winners will keep going into the massive auction, which is scheduled to take place before the upcoming season. Pandya will lead the Indian T20I team for the second season in a row if he stays captain, which is most likely the case despite the most recent circumstances, and if Mumbai signs Suryakumar again. Although MI would not have predicted this outcome when they decided to replace Rohit with Pandya—a move that didn’t sit well with either party’s sizable fan base—it didn’t ruin the dynamics between Rohit and Pandya, and it’s safe to say that it won’t affect the Suryakumar-Pandya relationship either.
In his eight and a half years as an international cricket player, Pandya has faced and conquered many challenges. This time around shouldn’t be all that different either.