Chief selector Ajit Agarkar has cleared the air and confirmed that Hardik Pandya’s dodgy fitness was the reason behind him being overlooked for the T20I captaincy following the retirement of Rohit Sharma after the T20 World Cup.
The white-ball vice-captaincy was also handed over to Shubman Gill since the selection committee felt that the “the captain should be on the park”.
The Telegraph had reported that Pandya’s frequent breakdowns has worked against him in the race to replace Rohit in the shortest format.
“Surya was made the captain because he is one of the deserving candidates,” Agarkar said at a news conference in Mumbai on Monday. “He’s been around the group over the last (few) years, we get feedback from the dressing room a lot. (He has a) good cricket brain, and is one of the best T20 batters in the world.
“One of the main issues was that you want a captain who’s likely to play all the games. We think he is a deserving candidate and, hopefully, we’ll see over time how he develops into the role.”
Hardik was the vice-captain in the T20 World Cup and had been the designated captain since the 2022 edition in Australia whenever Rohit was unavailable.
“He’s still a very important player for us. That’s what we want... him to be the player that he can be. Those sorts of skillsets are very difficult to find, what he has. Fitness
obviously has been a challenge for him over the last few years and that then becomes a little bit more difficult for a coach or even us selectors,” Agarkar said.
“We’ve got a bit more time till the next T20 World Cup where we can look at a few things and it’s not rushed at the moment. We want him...
“His fitness is a clear challenge and we want someone who is likely to be available more often than not. Again, after saying all that, I think Surya has got the necessary qualities you need to succeed as a captain.”
Gill next in line
Agarkar also made it clear that Gill was being groomed as the next captain who could step into Rohit’s shoes.
His place in the ODI and Test teams is certain, and the selectors want him to open alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in the shortest format as well.
“Shubman is the guy, we feel. He’s a three-format player, seems has shown a lot more qualities over the last year or so, we hear from the dressing room. That’s why we want to have somebody who can learn from the senior guys... Surya in this instance and Rohit, who is still around,” said Agarkar.
“(Shubman) has shown some decent leadership qualities, and we want to try him to get experiences. There are no guarantees, but at this point, that’s the thought.”
Jadeja ‘not dropped’
The chief selector also clarified that Ravindra Jadeja hasn’t been dropped from the ODI squad.
“We know what Jaddu has done. He’s had a terrific 50-over World Cup. No, (he is) not at all dropped. All options are open,” Agarkar said. “Either of them (Jadeja or Axar Patel) wouldn’t have played all three games if we’d taken both. There’s a big Test season coming up, where he’s likely to
feature in a lot of the Tests. I don’t think three games would have mattered.
“I think we probably should have clarified after the selection that he’s not been dropped. He’s within the scheme of things and very important as a player,” said Agarkar.
Agarkar also remarked that there was no room for Surya in the ODI middle-order.
“We haven’t discussed Surya for ODIs at this point. Shreyas (Iyer) is back, KL is back. They had great World Cups. Rishabh (Pant) is back as well, so there is some quality through that middle order,” the chief selector said.
