Former spinner Harbhajan Singh feels Hardik Pandya should have been appointed Team India’s captain in T20Is and not Suryakumar Yadav. Hardik was Rohit Sharma’s deputy in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, and when the latter retired from the format following India’s triumph, Pandya was the only option left to captain the team.

However, Gautam Gambhir’s arrival as head coach changed everything. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee surprisingly announced Suryakumar as the new captain, saying the all-rounder is injury-prone and doesn’t play all the matches for the country. On the other hand, they felt that SKY was fit and was likely to be part of the team in all the assignments.

In his recent conversation with Sports Yaari, Bhajji refused to accept the decision-makers argument.

“You don’t play a lot of T20Is these days, and the calendar for the next two or three years is already with the selectors. They should have spoken to Hardik Pandya about the upcoming series in the shortest format and explained to him what was needed. He was India’s T20I captain when Rohit was not around. By logic, Hardik deserved to lead India, as he didn’t do anything wrong.

“I don’t know why his fitness was highlighted while giving leadership to SKY. I don’t have anything against Surya. He is an outstanding and selfless person. I know he was not expecting to get the captaincy. Hardik is unlucky,” he said.

Hardik and Suryakumar will return to action for the three T20Is against Bangladesh, starting October 6.