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'In IPL, Hardik Couldn't Gain Respect': SL Great On Why BCCI Preferred SKY Over Pandya

Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav in Indian colours (x.com)Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav in Indian colours (x.com)

India, the T20 World Champions, are set to face Sri Lanka at their den in a three-match rubber starting on Saturday. The recent changes in leadership, with Suryakumar Yadav taking over from Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya's aspirations being put on hold, have added an element of uncertainty to the upcoming series. 

After Rohit, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja's retirement from the shortest format, Suryakumar and Hardik, along with Jasprit Bumrah, are the two most prominent players in the Indian T20I side. However, the captaincy drama may or may not create a lot of fuss in the current dressing room.

While commenting on the captaincy plethora, former Sri Lankan all-rounder Russel Arnold gave his insights on the Suryakumar-Hardik situation. He called the all-rounder's fragile body one of the reasons why he wasn't picked as India's next T20I captain.

"Well, both are exceptional players. They bring different things to the party. Suryakumar Yadav is probably one of the better T20 batters going around and the way he plays it, he obviously has to see and read the game like no one else. Hardik has also shown that," Russel Arnold told Sports Tak. 

Arnold further mentioned the 2024 edition of IPL as the turning point when the dice was shifted from favouring Hardik Pandya and moved on towards Suryakumar Yadav.  

"But I reckon with how the IPL went and whereas Hardik couldn't really gain the respect of everyone around him, might have prompted BCCI to look in a different direction. It's about getting everyone to gel and keeping everyone calm and happy so that you can pull in the one direction. I'm not saying that wouldn't have happened under Hardik, but I guess, at this particular moment, it was a good opportunity and it's a great opportunity for Suryakumar to showcase what he can do and make it his own."

Ahead of the IPL 2024, Mumbai Indians removed Rohit Sharma as their captain and traded Pandya from Gujarat Titans to lead the five-time champions in the T20 extravaganza. However, Pandya's appointment didn't go well with MI loyalists or the players.

Nevertheless, both Surya and Hardik will take field on Saturday as India take on Sri Lanka in the 1st T20I in Pallekele.