The all-around player Hardik Pandya was the talk of the nation after he produced an intense last over to help India win the T20 World Cup 2024 against South Africa by defending 16 runs. As soon as Rohit Sharma declared his retirement from the game’s shortest format, he lost both his vice-captaincy position in T20Is and any chance to captain the team.
For the next T20I tour to Sri Lanka, Suryakumar Yadav and Shubman Gill were appointed as the team’s captain and vice-captain, respectively, and Gautam Gambhir was named Team India’s head coach. On July 22, Pandya was seen hugging a fan at the airport before the squad headed for the island nation. On July 27, in Pallekele, India will play Sri Lanka in the inaugural Twenty20 International.
Here’s the video Pandya’s warm hug to fan:
Mumbai: Cricketer Hardik Pandya shares a warm hug with a fan as he arrives at the airport for his departure to Sri Lanka. pic.twitter.com/1U93wXFmW2
— IANS (@ians_india) July 22, 2024
Unaware of Hardik Pandya’s versatility, selectors
There were multiple rumours circulating that Gambhir was sceptical of the tactical prowess of the Mumbai Indians captain. It’s important to remember that the 30-year-old won an IPL trophy with the Gujarat Titans during his first season as captain in 2022. He then finished second in 2023, but as MI’s captain in 2024, he had a terrible performance as the club finished last in the standings. Furthermore, Hardik has been pulled out of the ODI team against Sri Lanka in favour of Shivam Dube, an all-around player.
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The Baroda all-rounder appears to be popular in the headlines, as there have been a few publications expressing doubts over Gambhir’s capacity to bowl an entire ODI quota of ten overs. According to reports, he was requested to demonstrate his abilities by competing in the next Vijay Hazare Trophy. It’s important to remember that in the T20 World Cup and IPL 2024, Dube—who was also an all-rounder on the squad—bowled just one over. In three Twenty20 Internationals against Zimbabwe, he took wickets in just eight overs.
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