Star India all-rounder Hardik Pandya has joined the Indian squad ahead of the team’s departure for the T20I series against Sri Lanka. Pandya will feature only in the T20I leg of the series after having asked for a break from ODIs.
In a video shared by news agency ANI on X (formerly Twitter), Pandya can be seen joining the rest of his teammates ahead of the team’s departure to the island nation. He was seen in good spirits as he met his teammates and the new coaching staff.
In the process, he also shared a warm hug with India’s new assistant coach Abhishek Nayar, who is a new member of India’s latest coaching team under Gautam Gambhir. Nayar, along with Ryan ten Doeschate, will travel with the Indian team for the Sri Lanka tour as an assistant coach.
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Watch – Hardik Pandya joins Indian squad ahead of T20I series against Sri Lanka
#WATCH | Mumbai | The Indian men’s cricket team arrive at the airport, they will leave for Sri Lanka shortly.
The Indian cricket team will play ODI and T20I series, 3 matches each, against Sri Lanka, starting from July 27 and ending on August 7. pic.twitter.com/ZmBmBqLasH
– ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2024
Recently, Hardik Pandya was denied the captaincy of India in T20Is in favour of Suryakumar Yadav. Hardik was the vice-captain of India when Rohit Sharma was the captain of the team. After Rohit’s retirement, Hardik seemed to be an automatic choice to replace Rohit as India’s next captain in T20Is. However, the selectors were not satisfied with Hardik’s constant injuries and fitness issues, forcing them to go for a safer option in Suryakumar Yadav.
Exact support staff to be known after Sri Lanka tour – Gautam Gambhir
At the press conference ahead of India’s departure to Sri Lanka, Gautam Gambhir thanked the BCCI for agreeing to his demands for certain members to be part of the technical team. He also added that the exact support staff of the Indian team is not yet finalised and will be finalised after the Sri Lanka tour is over.
“I am very happy with the BCCI. They have agreed to most of the things I asked them for. The support staff will remain the same as it is now, but we will finalise it once the Sri Lanka tour is over,” Gambhir said.
Gambhir also spoke about the advantages of having two assistant coaches as they can be involved in all three departments, batting, bowling and fielding.
“Yes, Abhishek (Nayar) is the assistant coach and Ryan ten Doeschate is the assistant coach. Personally, I think there can be assistant coaches who can probably get more involved in all three departments rather than focusing on just one and that’s the reason why we have two assistant coaches now as well. And that’s the way we are moving forward and yes, you will know exactly the support staff once the Sri Lanka tour is over,” Gambhir explained.
Team India will play three T20Is and three ODIs on their tour of Sri Lanka beginning on July 27. The T20Is will be played on July 27, 28 and 30 in Pallekele. Meanwhile, the ODIs will be played on August 2, 4 and 7 in Colombo.
