Pakistan’s ex-skipper slams BCCI, Ajit Agarkar for axing Hardik Pandya of T20 captaincy: ’Hand him a certificate’

With the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announcing Suryakumar Yadav's appointment as T20I captain, it has upset many former cricketers and critics. Former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif joined the latest bandwagon, questioning the reason behind Hardik Pandya's not being named skipper.

Though it was previously presumed that Hardik Pandya would take charge from Rohit Sharma as T20 captain after T20 World Cup, India's chief selector Ajit Agarkar pointed out the fitness concerns of the star all-rounder as reason for Hardik missing the role.

Not only the T20 captaincy role, Hardik even lost the spot of vice-captaincy to Shubman Gill.

Known for being vocal about his views and opinions, Latif opines that fitness is just an excuse for not making Hardik the captain. He even suggested that the BCCI should give Hardik an unfit certificate.

"No, here they (the claims) just hand him a certificate saying he isn't fit and there are concerns about his fitness. There are plenty of players who weren't super fit but still became great captains. So, I think it was just an excuse. Because if Surya wasn't around, then Rishabh (Pant) would have been the captain since you have to look at the future," Hindustan Times quoted Latif as saying.

What Agarkar had said:

Earlier, before India left for the Sri Lanka tour, Agargar in a press conference revealed the reason for choosing Suryakumar as Rohit's successor.

"Hardik's skill-sets are difficult to find and fitness is difficult to find. we have got a bit more time and we can look at a few things. Fitness was a clear challenge and we wanted someone who was likely to be available more often," Agarkar said.

"We have taken general feedback from the dressing room also," he added.

This is for the first time that Hardik will play under Suryakumar Yadav's captaincy in the upcoming three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, which begins on 27 July, followed by matches on 28 July and 30 July.