Who will be the next T20 captain of Team India after Rohit Sharma? This question has now emerged as the biggest question in Indian cricket. Till now, Hardik Pandya’s name was at the forefront of the race, but with Gautam Gambhir becoming the head coach, something is likely to change.
According to reports, it is still being determined that this all-rounder will become the next T20 captain. The selection committee members may give this responsibility to someone close to Rohit Sharma, also part of Mumbai Indians. India vs Sri Lanka T20 series is going to start from 27th July. Before this, the new T20 captain was announced, it was earlier believed that Hardik was a certainty to get the job.
But now the situation is complicated. According to information received from Indian Express, the selectors are not in favor of making Pandya the captain. Suryakumar’s name has come up in his place as he has been injured continuously. A BCCI source said, “It is a grave matter, there is a discussion going on from both ends between Hardik and Sun about who should be the captain. So far no one has been able to agree. “Pandya’s fitness is a matter of concern, but the way he played a major role in winning the T20 World Cup cannot be denied.”
On the other hand, when the players talked about Surya’s captaincy, they also praised James a lot. Hardik Pandya was the biggest option for the captaincy in the absence of Rohit Sharma. It was certain that he would captain the T20 World Cup 2024, but an injury in the 2023 World Cup forced the selectors to reconsider.
Later, on 14 February 2024, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah announced that Sharma would become the captain. Since 2021, Hardik has been going through injury problems regularly. Because of this, he is not seen playing in the longer format either. If we compare Hardik and Surya as captains, the all-rounder has the experience of captaining in IPL for 3 years. Out of them, he has played 2 finals and won 1 as well.
He has captained India in 16 matches. India won 10 of them, while Suryakumar only got the captaincy after suffering a serious injury. He captained against Australia and South Africa. Under his captaincy, India won 5 out of 7 matches. In such a situation, it would not be wrong to say that both are the biggest rivals for the captaincy.
