As Rohit Sharma has called it quits from the T20I format, India would be looking for a new captain in this format. After the successful sojourn at the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, where India beat South Africa in the high-octane finals on 29th June 2024 to lift the title, India will enter into a transition phase in this format.
Shubman Gill will be leading the T20I side in a 5-match T20I series, that starts from 6th July 2024. The young colts of India will have a solid chance to showcase their mettle and prowess at the international stage.
Some youngsters who have performed well in the Indian Premier League (IPL) have earned a call-up to the national side and they will be looking to produce some memorable performances in the upcoming T20I series.
In this article, we take a look at 3 players who can be India’s next T20I captain:
1. Hardik Pandya
The frontrunner to be the next captain of Team India is Hardik Pandya. He is presently the vice-captain of the white-ball formats of India and has a lot of experience under his belt. Under his astute captaincy, Gujarat Titans (GT) had won the IPL title in 2022 and had finished as runners-up in 2023.
In the international format, he has led India in 16 T20Is and has won 10 T20Is. Pandya has registered series victories against New Zealand and Sri Lanka at home and has an away series victory against Ireland.
He had also led India in the one-off T20I against West Indies on 7th August 2022, and had led India to a 88-run victory.
2. Surya Kumar Yadav
One of the most important cogs in the wheels of the Indian team in this format, Surya Kumar Yadav can be a good-choice captain of the Indian cricket team in this format after Rohit Sharma.
His versatile shots and his incredible game-sense has been hailed by several pundits and he has an enviable record in T20Is. The 33-year-old cricketer has played 68 T20Is for India and has scored 2340 runs at a good average of 43.4.
3. Jasprit Bumrah
Perhaps the second-best option India has after Hardik Pandya is Jasprit Bumrah. Bumrah had led India to a 2-0 series victory against Ireland in 2023 and is a hugely-experienced cricketer.
Bumrah recently bagged the player of the tournament award in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 for his incredible bowling performances. If he dons the captaincy hat of Team India, we are sure that he will be doing a terrific job.
Also read: ICC T20 World Cup 2024: Most Runs, Wickets, Player Of The Tournament, Know All
