New Delhi: Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was spotted sharing a warm hug with the team’s new assistant coach Abhishek Nayar ahead of the squad’s departure to Sri Lanka for their upcoming white-ball tour. India will play three T20Is followed by as many ODIs against the hosts in Sri Lanka in what will be new head coach Gautam Gambhir’s first assignment with the team.
Gambhir attended his first press conference on Monday, marking the start of his stint as the head coach of the Indian team. In the presser, the former India opener confirmed Nayar and Ryan Ten Doeschate will serve as the assistant coaches in his support staff. Gambhir attended the presser with chief selector Ajit Agarkar in Mumbai.
Hardik, who will be featuring only in the three-match T20I series against the hosts, was seen catching up with Nayar and other support staff at the airport ahead of the team’s departure. The star all-rounder was the favourite to replace Rohit Sharma as captain in T20Is but was pipped in the race by Suryakumar Yadav amid doubts over his fitness and his poor injury record.
The video of Pandya’s heartwarming embrace with Nayar went viral on social media as fans sympathised with the all-rounder, who is gearing up for his first series with Team India after separating from his wife Natasa Stankovic. The couple announced their separation last week following which Natasa left for her home in Serbia with their son Agastya.
Watch Hardik Pandya shares hug with India assistant coach Abhishek Nayar:
#WATCH | Mumbai | Indian Men’s Cricket Team arrives at the Airport, they’ll leave for Sri Lanka, shortly.
Indian Cricket Team will play the ODI and T20I series, 3 matches each, against Sri Lanka, starting on July 27 and ending on August 7. pic.twitter.com/ZmBmBqLasH
— ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2024
Ajit Agarkar explains why Suryakumar pipped Hardik
While explaining the decision to prefer Suryakumar over Hardik as India’s captain in T20Is, chief selector Agarkar said fitness has been an issue with the all-rounder and that wanted someone who would be available to lead the team more often than not. Agarkar insisted Hardik remains an important player for India in white-ball cricket and suggested that he can be managed in a better manner with no burden of captaincy.
“Regarding Hardik, he’s still a very important player for us. Fitness has obviously been a challenge for him… Then it becomes difficult for the coach or selectors. Fitness is a clear challenge and we want someone who is available more often than not,” said Agarkar.
“Having said that, we believe Surya has the qualities necessary to be a captain. We also feel we can manage Hardik better, we’ve seen what he can do with the bat and ball in the World Cup,” he added.
Hardik will play under Suryakumar’s captaincy in the upcoming three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka and will be hoping to continue his fine form after a solid T20 World Cup campaign.
Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was spotted sharing a hug with new assistant coach Abhishek Nayar ahead of the team’s departure to Sri Lanka for their upcoming white-ball series. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
