New Delhi: Hardik Pandya is likely to take over as India’s new captain in T20Is after Rohit Sharma retired from the shortest format. Rohit announced his retirement from T20Is after leading India to a memorable triumph in the recently concluded T20 World Cup 2024. Hardik was part of the World Cup-winning team and played an instrumental role in helping India clinch glory.
Hardik finished the tournament with 144 runs and 11 wickets, including a brilliant spell of 3/20 in the final which helped India beat South Africa by 7 runs in a thriller to bag the trophy. The all-rounder enjoyed a great redemption after a difficult few months as he was constantly booed and trolled during the IPL 2024 after replacing Rohit as the captain of Mumbai Indians.
Bouncing back in style, Hardik proved why he remains an integral member of the Indian team in T20Is with his impressive performances in the T20 World Cup 2024. BCCI has reportedly drawn the roadmap ahead for India in T20Is and Hardik has been earmarked as the new leader for the Men in Blue in the shortest format.
“Hardik Pandya is all set to lead the Indian team in the T20, Rohit Sharma’s announced his retirement. Hardik is also unlikely to be rested for the upcoming series vs Sri Lanka,” a source in BCCI was quoted as saying by ANI.
Why Hardik is favourite to take over as India’s new T20I captain?
Hardik would have been an automatic choice for captaincy after Rohit’s retirement considering he was leading India in T20Is after seniors like Rohit, Virat Kohli and Bhuvneshwar Kumar were dropped from the format following India’s disappointing exit from the T20 World Cup 2022. Hardik led India in the run-up to the T20 World Cup 2024 and was dubbed to lead the side in the showpiece event.
However, an injury to Hardik paved the way for Rohit to regain captaincy and the Hitman led India to their second T20 World Cup title in style. Rohit led from the front with the bat and continued to bat with aggressive intent throughout the tournament to provide India with cracking starts at the top. Rohit finished as the second-highest run-getter of the tournament with 257 runs in 8 matches.
However, with the Hitman now focusing on prolonging his Test and ODI careers, Hardik seems to be the ideal fit in T20Is. Hardik first assignment as India’s full-time captain in T20Is is likely to be India’s upcoming home series against Sri Lanka which gets underway later this month.
Team India all-rounder Hardik Pandya is likely to take over as new captain in T20Is after Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the shortest format. Rohit quit T20Is after leading India to glory in the T20 World Cup 2024. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
