Dinesh Karthik, a former Indian cricketer and current commentator, has raised concerns regarding Hardik Pandya’s dismissal from the vice-captaincy of the Indian T20I team. Following Rohit Sharma’s retirement from T20 cricket after the 2024 World Cup, Pandya was unexpectedly overlooked for the captaincy, with Suryakumar Yadav appointed as the new leader.
Pandya was not selected as the team’s vice-captain, with Shubman Gill taking on the role as Suryakumar’s deputy for India’s initial series following the T20 World Cup against Sri Lanka. Although Gill was dropped from the T20I squad, the selectors chose not to appoint a vice-captain for the subsequent two series against Bangladesh and South Africa.
The team has appointed all-rounder Axar Patel as the new vice-captain for the forthcoming series against England. This decision puzzled Karthik, who believed there was no justification for not selecting Pandya for the vice-captain role.
“I really don’t know. I don’t know why he (Hardik) was stripped of his vice-captaincy. I don’t see any reason to. They have done well. They have won in the bilaterals that he was the vice-captain. Not a clue,” Karthik said on Cricbuzz.
