India ended the year 2022 with a Test series 2-0 win in Bangladesh, although which could have as easily been 1-1 had Bangladesh taken their chances.
It was largely a disastrous year for Indian cricket which, apart from on-field debacles – India failed to reach the final of Asia Cup, T20 World Cup, lost the Edgbaston Test, lost two Tests in South Africa – also saw players getting frequently injured, and rested, and a spate of captains leading the side across formats.
The captaincy issue is something that remains a debate. One, though, it seems, will settle down in early 2023 as the reports have suggested the BCCI is set to appoint Hardik Pandya as the new T20I captain. In the past month, reports have been strong in favor of Pandya being named the new T20I skipper with Rohit Sharma likely to be rested in T20Is this year to keep him fresh for ODIs and Tests.
Rohit Sharma is unlikely to be part of the upcoming Sri Lanka T20I series because he’s still recovering from the thumb injury that he’d sustained in Bangladesh.
While there isn’t any confirmation on this yet from the board, broadcaster Star Sports jumped the ship already declared Hardik Pandya as the captain for the upcoming Sri Lanka T20I series that starts on January 3.
Star Sports captioned their video featuring the all-rounder: “.@hardikpandya7 is ready to kick-start the New Year with a bang against the Asian T20I Champions! #BelieveInBlue & get ready to witness some action from this new #TeamIndia under the Hardik ‘Raj’ Mastercard #INDvSL series | Starts Jan 3 | Star Sports & Disney+Hotstar.”
“Hardik Raj” is what Star Sports declared in their promotional video for the T20I series against Sri Lanka. As fans took notice of it and were left confused, the broadcaster soon deleted that tweet and removed the “Hardik Raj” part.
Here is how fans reacted to the ‘Hardik Raj’ remark:
So in new era bradcasters are announcing the captain
— Harsh (@ryangoslingv) December 25, 2022
Kung fu pandya 🔥 here to rule 🔥
— sk boy (@sk78boy) December 25, 2022
Team announce ho gayi kya?
— Prezz (@rus_vala) December 25, 2022
Is this indirect announcement hehe
— SURBHI SHARMA🇮🇳 (@Imsurbhis) December 25, 2022
Rohit era khtm kya
— neeraj (@MSDfan_kLtiger) December 25, 2022
