MUMBAI: Hardik Pandya lost out on India’s T20 captaincy to Suryakumar Yadav because of concerns over his availability after frequent injury absences, India’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar said Monday. Explosive middle-order batsman Suryakumar, 33, was last week named Rohit Sharma’s successor in the T20 format for India’s white-ball tour of Sri Lanka, which begins Saturday.

All-rounder Pandya, 30, was Rohit’s deputy during India’s T20 World Cup triumph last month but he has suffered from fitness problems and missed the 50-over World Cup last year with an ankle injury. “Fitness has been something that he’s struggled with,” Agarkar told reporters in Mumbai alongside new coach Gautam Gambhir.

“As selectors, it becomes difficult then. The thought behind it was that we want someone who is likely to be available more.” India begin their Sri Lanka trip with the first of three Twenty20 internationals on Saturday and Pandya has reportedly opted out of the three subsequent one-day internationals.

He was “still a very important player,” Agarkar said. “And that’s what we want him to be, those skill sets are hard to find.” Agarkar praised Suryakumar’s captaincy credentials. “He is one of the best T20 batters in the world,” said Agarkar.

“We feel that Surya has all the necessary qualities to be a good captain. “We wanted a captain, who is likely to play all the games.” Suryakumar would remain solely a T20 player, said Agarkar. Rohit has retained the 50-over captaincy.

Gambhir explained his coaching philosophy, speaking to reporters for the first time since succeeding Rahul Dravid. “I think it is important to give players the freedom, that’s what I believe in,” he said. “The best relationship is built on trust. I can promise that the most important thing is that they will always have my back.”

Rohit, 37, and Virat Kohli, 35, both quit T20 internationals after the World Cup. Gambhir, a former India teammate of both Kohli and Rohit, expects the veteran pair to remain key figures in the Test and 50-over teams. “Both those guys have a lot of cricket left in them,” Gambhir said, adding he hoped they are motivated to feature in the 2024/25 tour to Australia and next year’s 50-over Champions Trophy. Retirement is “a very personal decision” he added. — AFP