Hardik did no wrong: Kaif backs all-rounder after T20I captaincy snub

New Delhi: Following the appointment of Suryakumar Yadav as the T20I captain for the tour of Sri Lanka, former India cricketer Mohammad Kaif has expressed his support for all-rounder Hardik Pandya to assume the T20I captaincy. Notably, young batter Shubman Gill has been designated as the new T20I vice-captain ahead of Hardik, who served in that role during the 2024 T20 World Cup victory.

Speaking exclusively to IANS, Kaif opined that the selection panel, led by Ajit Agarkar, should have supported Pandya for the T20I captaincy, given his prior experience in leading the side. He also discussed India's T20 World Cup triumph and shared his views on the potential candidate for the next Delhi Capitals head coach following Ricky Ponting's departure.

Excerpts from an interview:

How do you see Team India's bounding that helped the Men in Blue win the T20 World Cup?

Kaif: The biggest factor was Jasprit Bumrah, beating Pakistan gave them a lot of confidence in the T20 World Cup. Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid picked a very balanced team. The team planning was really good. Ajit Agarkar also gave full support to the coach and captain. People questioned Virat Kohli, but he played crucial innings when needed the most.

All the tactical moves fitted well for India. People doubted Rohit and Virat but the team backed them and they proved their mettle on the big occasion. Rohit has done a lot for India as a captain in three years. He opened the innings, set the momentum of the game, and guided his team to play at the same tempo. It was the most difficult World Cup as they had to play in two different conditions in the same tournament. New York had a seaming track but in the West Indies, it was slow and turning. It had never happened before in any World Cup. It was very challenging. We played all our matches in the day which was not easy to accommodate as our players are used to playing under lights during the IPL.

Rahul Dravid has also learned, he was not a born coach. As a captain in the 2007 World Cup, under his leadership, we were knocked out of the ODI World Cup in West Indies. He also wanted to redeem himself in the West Indies this time. Dravid did splendid work as a coach.

His previous coaching stints in IPL were also not good. He learned from his mistakes. He did a superb job by adding three all-rounders to our squad. In the World Cup, Axar Patel made Virat Kohli's job easy. He did all that work as a coach. He gave freedom to Rohit Sharma to take his calls. I was very happy that Dravid, Rohit and Virat signed off with a title.

Suryakumar Yadav has been appointed as T20I captain for the Sri Lanka tour. How do you see the progress of the Indian team during the Gautam Gambhir era?

Kaif: I think Hardik Pandya 'shayad captain banne chahiye the' (for Sri Lanka tour). Hardik has captained the Gujarat Titans for two years and in their first year itself, they made it to the final...Hardik has experience captaining the T20I side. He was also the vice-captain at the T20 World Cup. Now, a new coach has arrived, there will be new planning. Surya is also a good player, he has been playing for years. He is a No.1 T20 player, I hope he will shoulder the captain's responsibility well. But I feel they should have backed Hardik.

Gambhir is an experienced captain and coach...He understands cricket very well. I think 'Hardik ne aisa koi galat kaam nhi kia ki unko captaincy na mile' (Hardik has not done anything wrong that he should not get the captaincy). He has experience, has captained in the IPL and leading a new team (Gujarat Titans) to the trophy, with fresh and young faces, which is a huge thing. He has made the Titans win by working from Ground Zero in the IPL...I think he was entitled to the captaincy. So let's just wait and see.

Delhi Cipital's performance was not up to mark in the last IPL, where do you think the team is lacking?

Kaif: Delhi Capitals rotate their players so much. New players come and go, they had Mandeep Singh, Sarfaraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Rilee Rossouw, and Ripal Patel for whom they said they're grooming him. But they are not following their template of making a team of youngsters as they move on from that and bring in senior players. They don't back their players and keep on changing players.

I feel Sourav Ganguly will do a good job if he takes over as head coach. He has experience, and a mega auction is also coming, so he will build a good team. Delhi Capitals had players but their problem was inconsistent playing 11. I don't think they had issues with the players, they had quality players but they somehow lacked in backing their players. Captains like Rohit Sharma and Ricky Ponting should not have an issue with the management. He is a legend and he should know how to run the team.

The challenge comes when you lose 2-3 matches and after that, the management also gets involved and asks 'Why are you losing?' When management asks what is going on, this is where the puzzle goes wrong and pressure builds. Delhi made tactical mistakes in the last few matches and missed out on the (play-off) qualification."

Can we see you working with any team again?

Kaif: I would love to be on the ground and connect with like-minded people.