Everyone was shocked during the 15-member squad selection of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the upcoming Asia Cup 2025, which is expected to begin on September 09 at the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with the entire competition taking place across the two venues- the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and in Abu Dhabi.

The shock came not only at the omission of Shreyas Iyer, but also at the decision to appoint Shubman Gill as their new vice-captain. Many questioned that Axar Patel should have been made the vice-captain for the event after he was in the position during the five-match home T20I series against England earlier this year.

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But what about Hardik Pandya, who was the leader of the side when Rohit Sharma used to take breaks? The all-rounder was seen as the natural successor in the T20Is post the retirement of the Nagpur-born. He had the CV of an IPL title with the Gujarat Titans, 833 runs as the leader for the two seasons, and 10 wins in 16 T20Is as the captain.

Explained: How Hardik Pandya lost his T20I captaincy for India

Moreover, Hardik was just a ball away from leading the franchise to their second successive title of the IPL. The future looked set. But the turning point came in 2023, when a major injury kept him out of the World Cup at home. There was more added drama about the leadership of the Mumbai Indians.

“We would want a captain who stays on the park.” The statement from the chief selector, Ajit Agarkar, pointed to a huge shift in the entire development. That sentence framed the Gujarat-born as always injured and available for the national side. In reality, though, he has been out of the longest format due to his body and the workload management, and looks to focus only on the two white-ball formats.

When Gautam Gambhir became the Indian head coach, the selectors made Suryakumar Yadav the new captain. Axar became the vice-captain. Now, with the BCCI’s aim to make Shubman Gill the all-format player and the new vice-captain, Hardik’s future in this department looks dim. The question stands if the politics has seen the end of Hardik Pandya as India’s T20I leader.