‘Hardik Pandya Must Play Vijay Hazare Trophy for ODI Comeback’ – Gautam Gambhir

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Read Original Content: ‘Hardik Pandya Must Play Vijay Hazare Trophy for ODI Comeback’ – Gautam Gambhir

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently announced the ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour, starting on July 27.

In a surprising turn of events, Suryakumar Yadav has been appointed as the T20I captain of Team India, succeeding Rohit Sharma.

Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya, who was seen as the next T20I captain of the Indian cricket team, has not even been handed the vice-captain role, with Shubman Gill appointed as SKY’s deputy. 

As per several reports, the management and Gautam Gambhir took this decision, keeping in mind that Hardik Pandya is very much injury-prone and cannot play all the matches for India.

Gautam Gambhir has made it clear that players’ fitness and availability are of utmost priority. Pandya has not played ODIs since the World Cup 2023, and his regular fitness issues might see him losing his spot in the ODI team.

According to a BCCI official, Pandya’s inability to bowl 10 overs due to fitness concerns makes him an easy target to get ousted from the setup. Gambhir has also reportedly asked Pandya to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Baroda and prove his bowling fitness.

“Hardik was also reminded by Gambhir on the call that he was looking forward to seeing him bowl his full quota in ODIs,” a BCCI official said, as quoted by HT.

If Hardik Pandya is able to regain his fitness and bowl his complete quota of 10 overs in ODIs, he could be an important asset for the Indian cricket team going forward, especially keeping the Champions Trophy 2025 in mind. 

Read Original Content: ‘Hardik Pandya Must Play Vijay Hazare Trophy for ODI Comeback’ – Gautam Gambhir

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