Things are not going well for Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who is facing a lot of issues in his personal and professional life. A few days ago, his wife Natasa Stankovic broke the news of their divorce on her social media. Two days later, Suryakumar Yadav overtook him to become India’s captain for the upcoming T20Is against Sri Lanka. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar and new head coach Gautam Gambhir have stated that the selection committee is concerned about Hardik’s fitness and is looking for a permanent captain. To everyone’s surprise, Hardik will be playing for his home team Baroda in the upcoming Vijay Hazare Trophy as BCCI wants to monitor his fitness in the ODI format.
The all-rounder last played for Baroda in 2018.
Hardik has often been criticised for his frequent absence from domestic cricket matches. Former Baroda coach Dav Whatmore has hit out at the Indian all-rounder for not giving priority to his state team.
“There are still people who don't play white-ball cricket. For example, in my last few years in Baroda, Hardik Pandya would never play white-ball cricket. It always amuses me that he is called the all-rounder of Baroda, but he hasn't played for Baroda in years! So yes, there are people who don't,” Whatmore said on Pak Passion's YouTube channel.
“But recently I saw that the BCCI is keen on players to participate in the Ranji Trophy and two other formats to ensure that they take up cricket as a sport. Efforts are being made to ensure that four-day cricket is not neglected,” Whatmore added.
On the captaincy, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said Hardik remains an important player in the team given the unique skills he brings.
“As for Hardik, he is still a very important player for us and that is what we want him to become, the player he can become, because such skills are very difficult to find in the ones he has.
“Fitness has obviously been a challenge for him over the last few years and then it becomes a bit more difficult for say a coach or even for us as selectors when you're trying to pick a captain. Now we have a bit more time before the next T20 World Cup and we can look at a few things,” Agarkar said.
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