No conflict between SKY and Hardik Pandya amid leadership shuffle

There is nothing to see if some lurking eyes are searching for another instance of friction in the Indian camp. The shorter format of the game seems to be the only aspect currently going well for the Men in Blue. After wrapping up a dreadful red-ball season, the focus shifts back to white-ball cricket as the England tour of India begins. The tour kicks off with a five-match T20I series before ODIs take center stage ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy. The announcement of India's squad for the T20I series managed to ruffle some feathers despite the anticipated players making the cut. While Suryakumar Yadav has secured the captaincy position, India opted for all-rounder Axar Patel as his deputy, once again overlooking Hardik Pandya for a leadership role.

Suryakumar Yadav reflects on his strong bond with Hardik Pandya

With young stars like Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma coming to the scene following the retirement of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya has emerged as the senior player in the Indian T20I set-up. However, despite his seniority, Pandya enjoys no rights to lead the team in any capacity. Following India's T20 World Cup victory, Suryakumar Yadav was announced as the team's captain in the format under the newly-appointed head-coach, Gautam Gambhir. The decision came as a surprising one, as Yadav surpassed Hardik Pandya to assume the position.

Despite Pandya's regular leadership stints in Rohit Sharma’s absence before the World Cup, the pace all-rounder didn’t even get the vice-captaincy position. While Yadav retained the captaincy, the young Shubman Gill was named India’s white-ball vice-captain. As Gill prepares for the 50-over format, speculations were rife about Hardik Pandya finally getting the position. However, those hopes were dashed once again, with Axar Patel being named vice-captain for the T20I series against England. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill continues to hold the vice-captaincy mantle in ODIs.

Despite the surprising shuffle and the management's adamancy against Hardik Pandya being given the leading charge, SKY dismissed the possibility of any tussle. Suryakumar Yadav stated on Tuesday that he enjoys a strong bond with Hardik Pandya and emphasized that the all-rounder remains an integral part of the team’s leadership setup. Suryakumar has put to rest any speculation about tensions, clarifying that his relationship with his Mumbai Indians teammate Hardik remains strong.

“The relationship with him (Hardik Pandya) has been really great. We've been playing together for a really long time. I still remember that from 2018, when I went back to Mumbai Indians and it's the same till today," Suryakumar Yadav told ahead of the 1st India vs England T20I.

"We've been good friends on the field, and we know what we want going forward with the India team. Axar has been given that added responsibility. We saw what he did in the 2024 T20 World Cup, he's been with the team for a very long time. At the same time, Hardik is also part of the leading group. When we sit, we decide what we want to do with the team going forward and even on the field, he is always around. We have a lot of captains on the ground," he added.