On a wake-up call, after India’s thrashing defeat in the World Test Championship final, they have a wide call that the Indian team must move on from the senior players as this could rebuilding phase in Indian cricket with youngsters coming up the ranks in all three formats of the game.
Rohit Sharma has been one of the successful white ball captains in India winning five titles with Mumbai Indians, but could not replicate the success with the Indian team, as he won only the 2018 Asia Cup as a major trophy and had a disastrous outing in starting for Asia Cup 2022, T20 World Cup 2022 and the recently concluded WTC Final.
With age not being on his side, Indian selectors and the team management would look to groom the next youngster in the team to take up the mantle for India in International Cricket. Here are five players who can be India’s All-format captains.
1. Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant could be the right man to replace Rohit Sharma as India’s all-format captain shortly as he established himself as an indispensable member of the Indian team in all three formats. The youngster has grown up in the ranks since his debut for the Indian team, especially in the longer format of games scoring centuries in Australia, England, and South Africa making a name for himself in red-ball cricket.
The hard-hitting left-hander has already led- India during the 2022 T20 Series against South Africa in which the Indian team made a comeback from 2-0 in the first two matches to draw the series 2-2 with the final T20 being washed due to the rain and the Delhi batter has ample amount of experience of leading Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League in 2021 and 2022 season.
2. Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya has shown the potential to lead India in the limited opportunities as a captain. Pandya’s reputation as captain has grown in the last year or so after he led Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in their first-ever season. In the 2023 season too, he has done brilliantly to lead their team to the second consecutive final in the cash-rich league.
Hardik Pandya has been backed by several cricket experts and fans to become India’s full-time limited-overs captain once Rohit Sharma’s reign comes to an end. The Indian all-rounder has been out of the Indian test team following a scary injury in the 2018 Asia Cup, if he can work on his fitness and make come in the longer format of the game, then he could be one of the contenders to lead the Indian team in all three formats.
3. Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer has been a vital member of the Indian team in all three formats of the game in the last year, though injuries have curtailed his career and the KKR Skipper has shown tremendous capability given leadership roles in the domestic circuit and Indian Premier League. The Right-handed batter has got a game to play in every format of the game as phases his innings nicely in both white and red ball formats.
With age on his side, The Mumbai-born batter could well be a long-term prospect for the leadership of Team India. His composure and ability to read the situation can certainly come in crucial when he captains the team and the prolific batter has been the highest run-scorer in 2022 across formats and is slated to play the crucial No-4 spot for the Indian team in ODI World Cup 2023.
4. Jasprit Bumrah
To Many Surprise, Jasprit Bumrah was the stand-in captain for the one-off Test against England at Edgbaston. However, the Indian speedster led the Indian team very well against the well-oiled England team though the result was not in the favour of the Men in Blue. The 29-year-old has been one of the most impressive captains on the field during the game against England as he led the team from the front.
Bumrah always had a calm and composed approach to his game as a bowler and that would be reflected in his captaincy as well when provided an opportunity. If the Indian speedster can maintain his fitness he can be one of the contenders to replace Rohit Sharma as an Indian skipper.
5. Shubman Gill
Young Indian opener Shubman Gill has made a name for himself in all three formats of the game, as the youngster has shown the ability to play under different conditions of the game. The 23-year-old has been in the form of his since the start of 2023 scoring hundred in all three formats of the game for India.
Gill is already touted to be the next big thing in Indian cricket and has been in the form of life since the start of the 2023 season, proving to be a vital cog for the Indian team in all three formats and carrying on his form in the IPL 2023 and the right-handed opener would be well groomed as the Indian skipper going forward as he can give the role of vice-captain in forthcoming tournaments to develop him as a potential candidate to lead India in the future.