You’ve got to feel for Hardik Pandya. The man won India a T20 World Cup while he was undergoing a personal setback and when his confidence was at an all-time low following all that booing in the IPL. He scored 144 runs and took 11 wickets, and did everything that a vice-captain is supposed to, and yet was stripped of a leadership role as the BCCI announced Suryakumar Yadav as India’s next T20I captain.

Hurts, right? But then again, one couldn’t blame thr team management. Hardik’s infamous tryst with fitness and injuries meant that the board wanted to look at someone who’s fitter and can play more matches aa captain. Indian cricket found itself in a spot last year when Hardik was ruled out for four months. Thankfully, Rohit Sharma was there to save the day because things could have really gone south for India, who risked not baving a captain for the T20 World Cup. The board simply doesn’t want thay situation to come up again, which is why SKY was made captain and Shubman Gill his deputy.

With Hardik ever return to India’s captaincy mould? It’s tough, feels Scott Styris. The former New Zealand all-rounder is in total agreement with Ajit Agarkar’s call in not making Hardik the captain, and inists he would have done the same. Why? Hear from the horse’s mouth.

“I wouldn’t have personally made Hardik Pandya my captain either. I think that’s a smart choice solely for one reason, and that is as an allrounder. And skills wise he is India’s best allrounder. He is phenomenal. But you want him to be consistently fit,” Styris told News18.

“At the moment, how he’s in and out with his injuries, you know, bowling is really hard. It takes a lot out of you and your body. So sometimes, adding all the responsibility of captaincy is not necessarily a good thing because there’s just too much to do. I’d love to see Hardik Pandya just concentrate on getting those skills right, batting and bowling. And then you can look at captaincy a little bit later.”

Why Hardik the bowler becomes more crucial

Another reason why Styris doesn’t want the additional responsibility of captaincy on Hardik’s shoulders is because the importance of Pandya the sixth bowler is extremely precious. With Jasprit Bumrah expected to be workload managed, and the management being unsure about how long Mohammed Shami - currently recovering from an ankle iniury - can continue playing T20Is. Hence, with India’s bowling sticks appearing a tad thin, Hardik the bowler becomes all the more crucial.

Khaleel Ahmed is still not as experienced. Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan are behind in the pecking order. Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj as India’s main two trusted weapons, while Ravi Bishnoi is slowly making strides in international cricket for India. In such a developing situation, Styris does not want anything to happen to Pandya as he is one of the senior members of the side.

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“These fast bowling stocks are the one area where India probably needs a little bit more help, which is why I like the selection of these youngsters. Anytime Bumrah is not here, your team is going to be weaker. He’s as good as anyone who’s ever played the game, especially the white ball. So the decision to give him a rest, you totally understand. You’ve got to make sure that he’s fresh and ready for some of the other challenges that India have in front of them,” added Styris.

“Siraj, he leads RCB, Khaleel leads his bowling attack. And that’s what you’re looking for the next wave. And you want more out of Hardik Pandya. That’s why I like the decision not to make him captain because I really want him to see him stand up with a dominant role with the ball more than anything. Is it an opportunity for Shivam Dube as a fourth seamer? Perhaps, maybe.”