India all-rounder Hardik Pandya was unceremoniously sacked as India's T20I captain and vice-captain after India won the T20 World Cup 2024. He led the Indian team on various occasions between 2022 and 2024 as Rohit Sharma focused on ODIs for ICC World Cup 2023.

In an overhaul of sorts, the BCCI selection committee opted for Suryakumar Yadav as Rohit Sharma’s successor after the T20 World Cup win and left Hardik Pandya high and dry, removing him from leadership posts in white-ball cricket.

However, according to Dainik Jagran, Hardik is expected to return as captain as Suryakumar’s batting performances dwindle. Suryakumar rose to the top of the ICC T20I Player Rankings for batters a few years ago.

However, since he has gained full-time captaincy of India T20I team, Suryakumar has scored 258 runs in 14 innings at just 18.42, with two fifties. In fact, in the recently concluded home series against England, he managed only 28 runs in five innings, including two ducks.

As per the Dainik Jagran report, Hardik Pandya is being reconsidered for the role of India’s T20I captain, on the back of a consistent show in the format.

According to the article, a few BCCI officials, including head coach Gautam Gambhir, believe the India all-rounder has been wronged on several occasions.

"Despite Hardik being the vice-captain in the T20 World Cup, Surya Kumar Yadav was later made the captain. Surya's performance has also been poor. In such a situation, Hardik can return as captain in T20 as well. Some people who dominate the BCCI and Gambhir believe that a lot of bad things have happened to Hardik in history. He was not given the captaincy based on fitness, while his performance has been consistently good," Jagran's report stated.

Hardik Pandya was vice-captain of India ODI and T20I teams under Rohit Sharma when they won the ICC T20 World Cup 2024. However, since then, Shubman Gill has replaced Hardik as India's ODI vice-captain, and Axar Patel was named Surya’s deputy for England T20Is.