All eyes are on the BCCI as the Indian cricket fraternity eagerly awaits the new captain of India’s T20I team. Rohit Sharma retired from the shortest format of the game after leading the team to glory in the T20 World Cup last month and the BCCI is yet to announce his replacement.
Along with Rohit, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja had retired from T20Is long after India won the T20 World Cup after a long gap of 17 years. With Rohit retiring from T20Is, Team India will soon have a new captain. As of now, several players are in contention to replace Rohit as captain in the shortest format.
Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav are seen as the favourites while Jasprit Bumrah is also in the race after his starring role in the T20 World Cup. Last year, Hardik Pandya was leading the Indian team in T20Is when Rohit was not playing in that format. And when Pandya was sidelined with an injury, Suryakumar was named the captain.
The BCCI will take the decision soon on the captain. And ahead of the official announcement, former Indian pacer Amit Mishra has backed Pandya to become India’s new T20 captain. Speaking on Shubhankar Mishra’s podcast, the veteran pacer started by saying that Bumrah should be out of the picture before saying that Pandya could be a good option due to his track record.
“Remove Bumrah. In my opinion, he should not be the captain. Hardik has been performing well in T20 for the last two years. I think he can be the captain,” Amit Mishra said.
The host of the show asked Amit Mishra if Pandya’s continuity as captain of Mumbai Indians could affect the composition of the team. In response, the host said that the foundation of the team could change if Pandya continues to be the captain.
Hardik Pandya the captain:
Talking about Pandya, the captain, the all-rounder made a huge impact at the helm of the Gujarat Titans. In his first season as captain, he led the franchise to the IPL title in 2022. In 2023, he impressed again as the Titans finished second.
He rejoined Mumbai Indians ahead of the 2024 season and replaced Rohit Sharma as captain. However, things did not go well in his first season as Mumbai captain as the franchise did not perform well. Mumbai finished at the bottom of the points table with just 4 wins from 14 games.
