With Rohit Sharma hanging up his boots in the shortest format, it’s expected the BCCI will name Hardik Pandya as his captaincy successor in T20Is. And the step seems logical since the allrounder was the vice-captain at the recent world cup and has taken over the command whenever Rohit hasn’t been part of T20I team.
The allrounder also replaced Rohit as five-time IPL champions Mumbai Indians’ skipper after two successful seasons with Gujarat Titans, a franchise he led to title win in 2022 and a final appearance last year.
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However, former India selector Saba Karim feels that though Pandya is the first-choice, the team management must consider another candidate in Suryakumar Yadav who has captained them in the past.
Pandya has led India in 16 T20Is thus far of which they have won 10, lost five with one ending in a tie. On the other hand, Suryakumar has been the captain in seven T20Is, winning five and losing twice.
“The first thing that needs to be decided is who will captain in T20Is,” Karim told Sony Sports. “Rohit Sharma has retired, he won’t play T20Is. So you will have a new captain. I feel there are two contenders. If we see logically, Hardik Pandya should become the captain because he was the vice-captain in the winning World Cup campaign. He also captained India in the past. I feel the preparation now should be for the next T20 World Cup which is going to happen after two years.”
“I feel the discussion should be about SKY because Suryakumar Yadav captained India in the home series against Australia. India defeated Australia there and he also batted well. So he can definitely come forward as an option. If the selectors feel Hardik Pandya has played a fantastic role and can do the same as a captain as well, he can definitely be the ideal candidate. So I feel these are the two contenders,” he added.
India has won the T20 World Cup for the first time since lifting the trophy under MS Dhoni in 2007. The next time they will enter the tournament as defending champions in 2026 which is slated to be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.
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