Things are not going well for India all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who is facing numerous issues in his both personal and professional life. Few days back, his wife Natasa Stankovic broke the news of separation on her social media. Two days later, Suryakumar Yadav surpassed 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 long-time captain. To everyone’s surprise, Hardik will be featuring 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 featured for Baroda back in 2018.
On many occasions, Hardik receives criticism for being a regular absentee from domestic cricket. Former Baroda coach Dav Whatmore lashed out at the India all-rounder for not giving any priority to his state team.
"There's still some individuals who don't play white-ball cricket. For example, in my last few years in Baroda, Hardik Pandya wouldn't ever play white-ball cricket. It always amuses me that he's termed as the all-rounder from Baroda but he hasn't played for Baroda for years! So, yes, there are some who don't do that," said Whatmore on Pak Passion’s YouTube channel.
"But recently, I've seen that the BCCI have been keen that players participate in the Ranji Trophy as well as other two formats to ensure they see cricket as sports. Efforts are made to make sure 4-day cricket is not neglected," Whatmore added.
About the captaincy, chief selector Ajit Agarkar said that Hardik is still an important player in the team considering the unique skills that he brings to the table.
"As regards Hardik, I mean, as he's still a very important player for us and that's what we want him to be, that player that he can be, because those sorts of skill sets are very difficult to find what he has.
"Fitness obviously has been a challenge for him over the last few years and then it becomes a little bit more difficult for say a coach or even us as selectors when you're trying to pick a captain. Now we've got a bit more time till the next T20 World Cup and we can look at a few things," said Agarkar.