New Delhi: Amid rising tensions in the dressing room and off-field controversies hitting the Indian team one after another, it has emerged that head coach Gautam Gambhir was reportedly overruled by captain Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar during the team’s selection meeting for Champions Trophy 2025 on Saturday. India’s 15-man squad for the mult-nation tournament was announced on Saturday.
India’s squad was announced after a nearly two-and-a-half-hour-long meeting at the BCCI headquarters in Mumbai on Saturday. The selection meeting was attended by skipper Rohit and chief selector Agarkar with India head coach Gambhir joining virtually. Despite India’s ODI squad being a settled one with little room for debate, there was a delay of over two hours in the press conference, leaving fans and media personnel confused.
It has now emerged that the disagreement between head coach Gambhir and skipper Rohit and Agarkar was the main reason behind the delay. As per a report in Dainik Jagran, Gambhir wanted Hardik Pandya as the vice-captain of the team, however, Rohit and Agarkar were adamant about handing over the responsibility of being Rohit’s deputy to Gill.
Gill was eventually appointed India’s vice-captain for the Champions Trophy 2025 as Agarkar and Rohit overruled head coach Gambhir’s suggestion. This is not the first time Gill will be serving as Rohit’s deputy as he was also India’s vice-captain on their limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka last year. However, many have questioned Gill’s leadership credentials and have raised doubts if he can be moulded into a future India captain.
The curious case of Hardik Pandya
Hardik was once regarded as the future captain of the Indian team in T20Is and looked all but confirmed to be the vice-captain in ODIs. He was India’s designated captain in T20Is after Rohit and other seniors were sidelined from the shortest format following the team’s semi-final exit in the T20 World Cup 2022.
Hardik led India to 11 wins in 15 T20Is and was doing well as captain. While many thought he would lead India in the T20 World Cup 2024, Rohit and Virat Kohli made their T20 comeback ahead of the showpiece event with Hitman replacing the star all-rounder as captain.
Hardik played a key role in helping India lift the T20 World Cup 2024 trophy last year but was overlooked for captaincy after Rohit announced his retirement from T20Is. The Agarakar-led selection panel appointed Suryakuamr Yadav as India’s T20I captain citing Hardik’s poor injury record.
Meanwhile, Hardik was also removed as vice-captain of India in T20Is for reasons inexplicable as the selectors picked Axar Patel as Suryakumar’s deputy for the upcoming T20I series against England. Interestingly, Hardik will be leading Mumbai Indians in the IPL 2025 with the likes of Rohit, Suryakuamr and Jasprit Bumrah all playing under him.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir reportedly wanted Hardik Pandya as India’s vice-captain for the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. However, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar insisted on Shubman Gill. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
