IPL: Overlooked for India captaincy, can Hardik Pandya keep the top post at MI next season?

Hardik Pandya. Pic/AFP

He left the Caribbean basking in the glory of his success in India's triumphal march to their first ICC tournament title in 11 years. However, in a mere three weeks, Hardik Pandya's world has turned upside down. Elite sport can be ruthless and Pandya found that out when he was pipped by Suryakumar Yadav for the post of captain of the Indian T20 side for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka while battling problems on personal front. The vote of 'no confidence' in his leadership ability was so emphatic and in your face that it has left the flamboyant all-rounder facing another big question thanks to one of the most dramatic twists in Indian cricket.

Will Mumbai Indians, the franchise with the deepest pocket and biggest say in the IPL Universe, be ready to give one more year to their current preferred leader Pandya, who replaced their most popular captain (Rohit Sharma) in acrimonious circumstances last year? By leading the team to the T20 World Cup title, Rohit has elevated himself to a position which is second only to Mahendra Singh Dhoni in Indian cricket, barely few months after being dumped by his IPL franchise. So how do they deal with Rohit before the mega auction next year and what if the Indian skipper isn't interested in retention.

To make matters more intriguing, MI also have the new Indian T20 captain Surya in their IPL roster, and they will have to retain him at all cost going into next year's mega auction. For an Indian skipper's retention, MI might have to make an offer Surya can't refuse. As an India captain, what if he now harbours an ambition of also leading the IPL's most popular franchise. There is also another angle that needs to be pondered. It is an open secret in Indian cricket that pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah loves the leadership role but since his skills are as precious as gold kept in Fort Knox, he can't be always summoned to lead the team.

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But he wouldn't mind being the first among the equals to be retained. So where does all this leave Pandya, who moved to MI after a very successful stint with Gujarat Titans following a much-publicised all-cash deal, only to be booed in every nook and corner of the country during the last IPL. The IPL Governing Council hasn't yet announced how many retention they will allow and if it is kept at four with one being an overseas player, it leaves the franchise with three Indian choices. The upcoming mega auction will be all about creating a team for the next five years and some harsh calls will have to be taken.

Those in MI's core management team, with hands on their hearts, will agree that the manner in which Pandya was elevated as the skipper didn't end up creating a happy environment, and the last-place finish only strengthened those theories. Gautam Gambhir's entry as India head coach obviously put a spanner in Pandya's national captaincy prospects but even the selection committee led by Ajit Agarkar wasn't completely convinced that he is tactically as sound as one expects an international skipper to be. He needs a bit of handholding and Ashish Nehra did that at GT.

Mark Boucher wasn't that man at MI and as per a general feedback, the younger lot in the Indian dressing room have a chance of responding way better to Surya than to Pandya. What is the road ahead for Pandya right now? A terrific performance first up in the Sri Lanka T20Is to drive home a point. Also he can't just wait for India games as he will have to play domestic cricket to improve his his below-par international appearance percentage of 50 percent across two white ball formats in last 19 months (69 games (46 out of 79 T20Is and 23 ODIs out of 59 ODIs since Jan 22). Indian cricket is always full of twists and turns and if Pandya wants to go to the Champions Trophy next year, he will have to play the Vijay Hazare Trophy for Baroda in December. Pandya's leadership ambitions have faced a massive roadblock but in cricket, it ain't over till the last ball is bowled.

(With agency inputs)