Amid rumours of Suryakumar Yadav being preferred over him as the new captain of the Indian T20I team, key all-rounder Hardik Pandya came up with a post that 'hard work doesn’t go unnoticed'.
"Was a difficult journey after the freak 2023 WC injury but well worth the effort with the T20 WC win. The results come as long as you put in the effort. Hard work doesn’t go unnoticed. Let’s all try our best and work on our fitness," Pandya posted on Instagram along with photos of his transformed body.
Earlier, it was reported that Suryakumar has emerged as the dark horse to become the T20I captain till the 2026 World Cup.
Pandya's elevation from the vice-captain's position was seen as a natural progression up until now. The 30-year-old made himself available for the shortest format games against Sri Lanka this month but it has emerged that Suryakumar, who captained India in eight T20Is against Australia and South Africa last year, is the preferred choice of new head coach Gautam Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar.
It is learnt that both Gambhir and Agarkar spoke to Pandya about this change of plan earlier on Tuesday evening and explained to him that a long-term option was being finalised to ensure stability.
The T20 leadership role fell vacant after Rohit Sharma bid adieu to his international career in the shortest format following India's World Cup triumph last month in the West Indies.
Pandya, one of the heroes of that victory, will take a break during the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series against the island nation due to "personal reasons". The T20Is against Sri Lanka will run from July 27 to 30 in Pallekele, followed by the ODIs from August 2 to 7 in Colombo.
The squad for the series is expected to be announced today.
(With inputs from PTI)