Harbhajan Singh
Harbhajan Singh. PC- Twitter

Former India cricketer Harbhajan Singh has spoken about the next India T20I captain after Rohit Sharma steps down. He named Kerala’s keeper-batter Sanju Samson, highlighting how well he has led Rajasthan Royals in the last few years in the Indian Premier League.

Sanju Samson was named RR captain in IPL 2021 as he replaced Steve Smith. Samson then led the RR side to the final of the IPL 2022 which was held in India in whole after the Covid pandemic. Since then, Sanju Samson has been very good at leading the RR side.

Samson has been on top of his game in the ongoing edition of the T20 tournament. He is currently the second-highest run-scorer for RR this season, having racked up 314 runs from 8 games at an average of 62.80 and a strike-rate of 152.42 with 3 fifties and a top score of 82 not out.

Sanju Samson should be groomed as the next India T20I captain: Harbhajan Singh

As captain, Samson has not let his squad down in any way. The Royals now lead the table with 14 points and a net run rate of +0.698, courtesy of wins in seven of their eight games. Except for their setback against the Titans, RR has been on top of their game.

Their most recent win in IPL 2024 came against Mumbai Indians (MI) in their last home game in Jaipur, before they moved to Assam. RR defeated MI by 9 wickets chasing down 180 runs successfully, thanks to 104* by Yashasvi Jaiswal and brilliantly supported by Sanju Samson (38*) and Jos Buttler (35).

Harbhajan Singh believes India should cultivate Samson as their future T20I skipper once Rohit Sharma leaves. Harbhajan also praised Yashasvi Jaiswal for his excellent recovery following a rough time.

Harbhajan Singh took to ‘X’ and wrote, “Yashasvi Jaiswal’s knock is a proof of class is permanent. Form is temporary @ybj_19 and there shouldn’t be any debate about Keeper batsman. @IamSanjuSamson should walk in to the Indian team for T20 world cup and also groomed as a next T20 captain for India after Rohit . koi shak???”

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