Saba Karim felt that Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav could be the two contenders as Team India’s new T20I captain. After Rohit Sharma’s T20I retirement, the Indian team will have a new captain in the shortest format. Rohit Sharma’s retirement from the T20I setup meant that Team India would have a new captain at the helm of affairs in the shortest format of the game.
Former India cricketer Saba Karim suggested two contenders to take up India’s T20I captaincy. He felt that, alongside Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav had also presented a strong case for himself to take up the T20I captaincy. Saba Karim pointed out that the first task for the Indian selectors, as they sit to select India’s squad for the Sri Lanka tour, will be to select the T20I captain.
Rohit Sharma retires from T20 international post 2024 World cup win
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s retirement announcement from T20 International shocked their fans, who wished for their continued presence in the format. Team India ended the country’s 17-year wait to bring back T20 World Cup trophy back to home.
After Team India’s victory in T20 World Cup, Virat Kohli announced his retirement from the format while receiving his Player of the Match award in the final, whereas Rohit Sharma announced his retirement during the post-match press conference. Ravindra Jadeja gave information about his retirement on social media next day after the match.
Rohit Sharma has been on a break since the title win in the West Indies and is set to miss the limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka later this month, which includes three ODIs. Rohit Sharma left T20 Internationals with 4231 runs from 159 matches. During his game in this format, Rohit Sharma has crossed five centuries and 32 half-centuries.
Saba Karim considers Hardik Pandya or Suryakumar Yadav as India’s next T20I captain post Rohit Sharma’s retirement.
Hardik Pandya is being considered as the T20I captain for the series vs Sri Lanka. Since Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been rested for the tour, KL Rahul will be handed the responsibility to captain the Indian side in the ODI series. Hardik had led India in 16 T20Is and the team had won 10 out of those matches in 2023. He was named as the vice-captain of the Indian team in the T20 World Cup 2024.
Suryakumar had led India in the absence of the injured Hardik during the 5-match T20I series against Australia in November 2023, followed by the 3-match T20I series against South Africa.
Saba Karim has named Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav as the two contenders to be India’s next full-time T20I captain. He pointed out that it will be the first call the selectors need to take before picking the squad for the upcoming T20I series against Sri Lanka.
The Men in Blue will face the Lankan Lions in three T20Is and as many ODIs, with the first T20I to be played in Pallekele on July 27. While Shubman Gill led a young Indian side to a 4-1 T20I series win against Zimbabwe, a full-time shortest-format captain will likely take over the reins from the Sri Lanka series.
During a discussion on Sony Sports, Saba Karim pointed out that choosing Rohit Sharma’s successor as India’s T20I skipper will be the selectors’ first job.
“The first thing that needs to be decided is who will captain in T20Is. Rohit Sharma has retired, he won’t play T20Is. So you will have a new captain. I feel there are two contenders,” he said.
The former India wicketkeeper-batter pointed out that Hardik is the logical option as the Men in Blue’s next T20I skipper.
“If we see logically, Hardik Pandya should become the captain because he was the vice-captain in the winning World Cup campaign. He also captained India in the past. I feel the preparation now should be for the next T20 World Cup which is going to happen after two years,” Saba Karim elaborated.
Saba Karim reckons Suryakumar Yadav is the other candidate for India’s T20I captaincy role.
“I feel the discussion should be about SKY because Suryakumar Yadav captained India in the home series against Australia. India defeated Australia there and he also batted well. So he can definitely come forward as an option,” he reasoned.
Suryakumar captained India in seven T20Is, five against Australia and two against South Africa, last year. The Men in Blue won five of those games, with the middle-order batter smashing 300 runs at an average of 42.85 and a strike rate of 164.83 in seven innings.
Saba Karim on Hardik Pandya as Indian T20I skipper
During the same discussion on Sony Sports, Saba Karim noted that the Indian selectors and Gautam Gambhir will have to decide whether Hardik Pandya is the ideal candidate to take the team forward.
“As far as I feel, the discussion will be about who will take the team forward in T20Is, who is the most suitable candidate. As I said, since Hardik Pandya has been the vice-captain, he should be made if you see logically, but in the end, the selectors and head coach will have to think whether he can take the team forward as a captain,” he said.
“If the selectors feel Hardik Pandya has played a fantastic role and can do the same as a captain as well, he can definitely be the ideal candidate. So I feel these are the two contenders,” the former India selector added.
Hardik has led India to 10 wins in 16 T20I games. He also captained the Gujarat Titans to the IPL 2022 title and the IPL 2023 final but had a horror run this year in his maiden season as the Mumbai Indians skipper.