Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav. Photo- X
Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav. Photo- X

Hardik Pandya reportedly didn’t attend Suryakumar Yadav’s fist huddle as the new India T20I captain ahead of the first T20I between India and Sri Lanka to be played in Kandy on July 27. The two sides are slated to clash in three T20Is with the next two matches to be played on July 28 and 30.

Then Sri Lanka and India will clash in three ODIs as well, with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returning to action in the format for the first time since the 2023 World Cup final. The three ODIS will be played at RPS Colombo on August 2, 4 and 7.

India will play the T20I series under a new regime with Suryakumar Yadav as captain and Gautam Gambhir as the new head coach.

Gambhir’s appointment was expected, but Suryakumar being named captain over Hardik Pandya was unexpected. Expected to be Rohit Sharma’s replacement in T20Is, Hardik’s unfortunate run with injuries served as a deterrent, while Surya’s rise – with solid feedback from the dressing room – made him the logical choice.

Hardik Pandya had quelled the rumors of beef with Suryakumar Yadav by warmly hugging him at Mumbai airport before India flew to Sri Lanka for the series.

Hardik Pandya absent from Suryakumar Yadav’s first huddle as India’s captain

When Hardik joined the Indian team and gave Surya a big old brotherly hug, everything appeared normal, but a recent development out of Sri Lanka shows there could be much more to it.

According to Abhishek Tripathi, a Dainik Jagran scribe who cited a source, Hardik was not present when Suryakumar assembled his team for his first huddle as India’s official T20I captain on Monday.

“Today was the first practice session of the Indian team in Sri Lanka. The source present there told that when the new captain Suryakumar Yadav called the team for the first time in the Hurdle to address it, Hardik Pandya was not included in it. Now it is not known why he was not there at that time. However, he joined the practice session later,” the scribe posted on X.

Tripathi went on to say that, despite Hardik’s late arrival, head coach Gambhir made sure to speak with the former India vice-captain.

In addition to not being named India T20I captain, Hardik Pandya lost his position as vice-captain of India’s white-ball teams to Shubman Gill.

Gambhir had emphasized the necessity of maintaining a pleasant dressing room, which, he believes, converts into a winning dressing room. So, despite any enmity between the two MI teammates, Gambhir stepped in to rescue the day, according to the source.

“It is known that after Rohit Sharma left the T20 captaincy, the vice-captain Hardik was the contender, but the new coach Gautam Gambhir and the selectors handed over the command of the team to Surya. However, during this time he was seen having a long discussion with Gambhir. He also talked to him about batting stance,” the post said further.

India play their first series of the Gambhir-Surya era starting July 27.

Also Read: Hardik Pandya Shares Warm Hug With Suryakumar Yadav; Watch Video