Hardik Pandya is reportedly set to be the next India T20I captain and will begin his tenure against Sri Lanka in the upcoming series in July-August.
After winning the T20 World Cup in 2024, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to give Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, and Rishabh Pant a respite during the recent Zimbabwe series. It was revealed that Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ravindra Jadeja would be retiring from the shorter international format.
Three T20Is and as many ODIs will be part of India’s white-ball series against Sri Lanka. Gautam Gambhir’s first job as head coach will be this one. The opening Twenty20 International of the tour will take place in Pallekele on July 27. On July 28 and 30, respectively, the other matches will take place at the same location.
Hardik Pandya to captain India in T20Is, to skip ODI series
As per Cricket Next report, in the shortest format match against the Lankans, Hardik Pandya is anticipated to assume captaincy, with Suryakumar Yadav most likely to be appointed vice-captain. However, the report also stated that Hardik Pandya might skip the ODI series, with KL Rahul assuming captaincy duties.
During the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA, Hardik Pandya served as vice-captain. In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022, Pandya guided the Gujarat Titans (GT) to their first-ever championship as team captain. Nonetheless, he encountered several difficulties during his most recent assignment with the Mumbai Indians (MI).
The selection committee is likely to choose players like Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel from India’s T20 World Cup-winning team.
Conversely, it’s unlikely that players like Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Siraj will be included in the team so soon.
July 27 marks the beginning of the three-match T20I series, which ends on July 30. On August 02, the ODI series will start. It will be intriguing to watch if other veteran players, like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who have retired from Twenty20 international cricket, appear for next month’s ODI assignment.
In addition, Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as Team India’s head coach begins with this series. Compared to Rahul Dravid, who declined to stay on as Team India’s head coach after the just-finished T20 World Cup, Gambhir has a very different demeanor.
Team India’s likely T20I squad for Sri Lanka series: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Sanju Samson (WK), Hardik Pandya (C), Axar Patel, Rinku Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Washington Sundar, Abhishek Sharma, Shivam Dube, Harshit Rana
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