Former India batsman Gautam Gambhir believes that Prithvi Shaw can make a “very aggressive” India captain in the future, apart from also suggesting Hardik Pandya’s name as the captaincy debate heats up in Indian cricket.
It has been reported that the BCCI is pondering over making a new T20I captain, replacing Rohit Sharma, after India’s T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final exit in Australia.
While KL Rahul is the designated vice-captain, the scales seem to tilt toward Hardik Pandya at the moment.
Speaking at an event organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) in New Delhi on Sunday, Gautam Gambhir said, “Hardik Pandya obviously is in line. But that’s going to be unfortunate for Rohit because I think judging his captaincy in only one ICC event is not the right way to probably judge him.”
Pandya led the debutant Gujarat Titans to the IPL 2022 title, and then captained India to 2-0 T20I series win over Ireland and 1-0 over New Zealand. Unlike KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, Pandya currently only plays white-ball cricket for India, so wouldn’t be needed to be rested as often as the other two openers.
Why did Gautam Gambhir name Prithvi Shaw as a potential future captain?
Prithvi Shaw has recently not been able to make India’s second-string T20I and ODI sides. But Gautam Gambhir feels that due to Shaw’s aggressive nature on the field – whether with the bat or in the handful of domestic games he’s captained – it could bore well for India.
“The reason I’ve picked Prithvi Shaw, I know a lot of people talk about his off-field activities, but that is what the job of the coach and the selectors are. The selectors’ job isn’t just to pick the 15, but also to get people walk the right path.
“Prithvi Shaw is one I feel can be a very aggressive captain, a very successful captain because you see that aggression in the way a person plays the sport,” Gambhir explained.
Prithvi Shaw led India to the under-19 World Cup title in 2018, and captained Mumbai to Vijay Hazare 2021 title.
Shaw has featured in 5 Tests, 6 ODIs, and 1 T20I for India, the last of which was in July 2021. His fitness and off-field activities are believed to be the reason for the selectors not picking him even in the second-string squads despite the opener plundering big runs in domestic and IPL.
