Hardik Pandya To Captain India In The Upcoming England Series?
Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma (Image Source: Twitter)
After the one-off Test match against England, India is scheduled for a One-Day and T20I series. However, things are not going for Rohit Sharma as the current Indian skipper tested Covid-19 positive ahead of the Test match. He might miss the Test match also, starting from July 1, 2022.
On the other hand, the Indian T20 Team is currently playing Ireland in Dublin in a two-match T20I series. Hardik Pandya opened his captaincy stint with a thrashing win over the Irish in the first match. Now, some reports are coming that Hardik Pandya might also continue as captain for the T20I series in England.
“Yes, Hardik is in our plans” – a Selection Committee member
As per reports to Inside Sports, a Selection Committee member said about the possibility of having Hardik as the captain for the future T20I series. He said: “There is no question of replacing Rohit Sharma anytime soon. But at the same time, it is essential to manage his workload. Yes, Hardik is in our plans as there will be many short tours in the future and he is not in Test plans at the moment,”
However, former Indian batter Virender Sehwag also came up with a suggestion that Rohit should leave the T20I captaincy to focus on his fitness and managing the overall workload. “If the Indian team management has someone else in mind as captain in the T20 format, then I think, Rohit could be relieved and the following can be taken into consideration going forward,” Sehwag concluded in an interview with PTI. He also added that it will help Rohit to take frequent breaks to rejuvenate himself to lead in Tests and ODIs.
Speaking about Hardik Pandya’s captaincy history, He was never a captain for any side before his Gujarat franchise appointed him as a skipper in the Indian T20 League 2022. He repaid their faith by winning the tournament at their maiden attempt as his captaincy style got praised by the cricket fraternity throughout the season. Hardik will be in action on 28 June 2022 (Tuesday) when India will take on Ireland for the second T20I match in Dublin.
