Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has backed all-rounder Hardik Pandya could succeed Rohit Sharma as captain in the shortest format of the game for team India as he noted that there isn’t any harm in trying a new leader.
Ravi Shastri came after team India’s heartbreaking exit from the T20 World Cup 2022 after they were knocked out of the semi-final stage against England. Ever since India’s exit from the World Cup, the debate has been going around team India’s leadership skills considering the workload in the next two years.
If reports are to be believed then the Indian cricket team might consider the split captaincy option. England and Australia were among the first cricketing nations to identify different red-ball and white-ball teams led by different captains. Currently, Rohit Sharma is the all-format captain however, he will be 37 by the next T20 World Cup in 2024 which might not be ideal.
Therefore, there are many who had advised that India should go the England way, however, the idea of split captaincy was always ignored by the BCCI. But according to the latest reports, the new selection committee is likely to be mandated to choose captains across three formats of the game.
Meanwhile, Ravi Shastri feels that trying a new leader in T20s is not going to harm the side and also highlighted the packed schedule which makes it difficult for one player to captain all the formats of the game. Shastri backed Hardik Pandya to do the job if the latter is handed the responsibility in the shortest format of the game on a long-time basis. He said:
“I think for T20 cricket, there’s no harm in having a new captain, because the volume of cricket is such that for one player to play all three formats of the game is never going to be easy,”
He added: “Rohit is already leading in one-days and test matches. There’s no harm in identifying a new T20 Captain, and if his name is Hardik Pandya, so be it,”
Meanwhile, in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who has been rested for the ongoing series against New Zealand, Hardik Pandya will be leading the Indian cricket team. The first match of the series was washed out because of the rain.
