'Hardik deserved T20 captaincy, has done no wrong': Kaif

Mohammad Kaif. Pic/AFP

Following the appointment of Suryakumar Yadav as T20I captain for the tour of Sri Lanka, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has expressed his support for all-rounder Hardik Pandya to assume the T20I captaincy. Notably, young batter Shubman Gill has been designated as the new T20I vice-captain ahead of Hardik, who served in that role during the 2024 T20 World Cup victory.

Speaking exclusively to IANS, Kaif opined that the selection panel, led by Ajit Agarkar, should have supported Pandya for the T20I captaincy, given his prior experience in leading the side.

"I think Hardik Pandya ‘shayad captain banne chahiye the' [for Sri Lanka tour]. Hardik has captained Gujarat Titans for two 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.

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"Gambhir is an experienced captain and coach...He understands cricket very well. I think ‘Hardik ne aisa koi galat kaam nhi kia ki unko captaincy na mile' [Hardik has not done anything wrong that he should not get the captaincy]. He has experience, has captained in the IPL and lead a new team [Gujarat Titans] to the trophy with fresh and young faces, which is a huge thing. I think he was entitled to the captaincy. So, let's just wait and see," he added.

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