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Hardik Pandya Overtakes Virat Kohli as India's Second-Most Capped T20I Star

Hardik Pandya has surpassed Virat Kohli to become India's second-most capped player in T20 Internationals. He achieved this milestone during the second T20I against New Zealand, taking his tally to 126 matches. Pandya now trails only former captain Rohit Sharma, who tops the list with 159 appearances. The article also notes that Suryakumar Yadav recently became the fourth Indian to feature in 100 T20Is.

Key Points: Hardik Pandya Surpasses Virat Kohli in T20I Caps for India

  • Pandya now has 126 T20I caps
  • Only Rohit Sharma (159) has more for India
  • Pandya is an all-rounder with 2000+ runs and 100+ wickets
  • Suryakumar Yadav recently played his 100th T20I
2 min read

Hardik Pandya surpasses Virat Kohli to become second-most capped T20I player for India

Hardik Pandya becomes India's second-most capped T20I player with 126 matches, moving past Virat Kohli. Details on his stats and the milestone.

"Pandya has now featured in 126 T20Is for the Men in Blue, while Kohli played 125 matches."

Raipur, January 23

Team India star all-rounder Hardik Pandya has surpassed Virat Kohli to become India's second-most capped player in T20 internationals, achieving the milestone during the second T20I against New Zealand in the ongoing five-match series.

Pandya has now featured in 126 T20Is for the Men in Blue, while Kohli played 125 matches. Pandya is second on the list of most T20I appearances for India, only behind the former India captain Rohit Sharma, who featured in 159 T20I matches before hanging up his boots in 2024.

Pandya has scored 2,027 runs in T20Is at an average of 28.54 and with the best score of an unbeaten 71. Pandya has also claimed 102 wickets at an average of 26.85, with the best bowling figures in a match of 4/16.

Hardik Pandya is amongst the only four players who have played over 100 T20I matches for India, with the other three being Rohit, Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav.

In his most recent outing, Pandya scored a 16-ball 25 against New Zealand in the T20I series opener and claimed bowling figures of 2-20 in 2 overs.

In the first India vs New Zealand, captain Suryakumar Yadav became the fourth Indian player to feature in 100 T20Is. The right-handed batter has amassed 2788 runs in 93 innings at an average of 35.29, including four centuries and 21 half-centuries. Suryakumar is also the third-highest run-getter for India in the shortest format.

India vs New Zealand 2nd T20I playing 11s:

India Playing 11: Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakaravarthy

New Zealand Playing 11: Devon Conway, Tim Seifert(w), Rachin Ravindra, Glenn Phillips, Mark Chapman, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner(c), Zakary Foulkes, Matt Henry, Ish Sodhi, Jacob Duffy.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

S
Sarah B
While it's great to see Hardik's milestone, let's not forget the context. Virat Kohli took breaks from T20Is for a while, which is why Hardik has played more matches recently. Both are legends in their own right.
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Vikram M
The future of Indian cricket is in good hands! With SKY also hitting 100 matches, we have a solid core. Hardik's leadership in the IPL and now these consistent performances for India... bas, world cup aa jaye ab! 🏆
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Priya S
Honestly, I feel we sometimes overhype these 'capped' records. What matters more is impact. Kohli's average and strike rate in T20Is are on another level. Hardik is a great player, but let's compare apples to apples.
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Rohit P
Rohit Sharma at 159 is still the king! But seriously, this shows how much T20 cricket India plays now. Remember when 50 T20Is seemed like a lot? The game has changed completely. Hardik is a product of this new, aggressive era.
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Michael C
As a neutral fan, it's impressive to see an all-rounder feature so consistently. His economy rate with the ball is under 8, which is gold dust in T20s. India's balance improves massively when he's in the team.

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