Hardik Pandya hugging Abhishek Nayar© X (Twitter)
Team India is all set to face Sri Lanka in a white-ball series, which will kick start from July 27. The series consists of three T20Is, followed as many ODIs, starting from August 2. In the T20Is, Team India will be led by batter Suryakumar Yadav, who has been appointed as the captain after the retirement of Rohit Sharma from the shortest format. This came as a surprise for many fans as all-rounder Hardik Pandya was expected to don the leader's cap. However on Monday, India's T20I squad left for Sri Lanka and heartfelt scenes were captured from the airport. At the airport, Hardik was seen a joyful mood as he hugged India's assistant coach Abhishek Nayar.
— ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2024#WATCH | Mumbai | Indian Men's Cricket Team arrives at the Airport, they'll leave for Sri Lanka, shortly.
Indian Cricket Team will play the ODI and T20I series, 3 matches each, against Sri Lanka, starting on July 27 and ending on August 7. pic.twitter.com/ZmBmBqLasH
Hardik was replaced by Shubman Gill as the vice-captain of Team India for the Sri Lanka tour. Apart from cricket, the all-rounder is also going through a rough patch in his personal life as he got separated from his wife Natasa Stankovic.
Regarding Hardik, chief selector Ajit Agarkar stated that Surya was chosen over him as the selection committee is concerned about his fitness.
"He's still a very important player for us. Fitness has obviously been a challenge for him... Then it becomes difficult for the coach or selectors. Fitness is a clear challenge and we want someone who is available more often than not. Having said that, we believe Surya has the qualities necessary to be a captain," said Agarkar during a press conference.
"We also feel we can manage Hardik better, we've seen what he can do with the bat and ball in the World Cup... We speak to every player, whether their role has changed. And yeah we've spoken to him," he added.
This series will also mark former India batter Gautam Gambhir's first assignment as the head coach. He will be having the support of his Kolkata Knight Riders support staff Nayar and Ryan Ten Doeschate.
"I have worked closely with Abhishek and Ryan in the last two months at IPL with KKR. Both are absolute professionals and hopefully they will have a successful stint with the Indian team as coaches," said Gambhir.