Indian ushered into a new era in T20Is with three of their stalwarts hanging up their boots after winning the T20 World Cup. Virat Kohli announced his retirement from the shortest format in Barbados as did captain Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, passing the baton to the next generation. Before they bid adieu to the other two formats as well, the team management’s task is to select and groom worthy contenders to follow into their footsteps.
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With Kohli and Rohit being at the fag end of their careers, the onus will fall on the shoulders of the likes of Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul who have proved their mettle across formats. Also, the caliber of Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer cannot be overlooked as they have also been showcasing their leadership skills.
Former selector and one of the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) members Jatin Paranjpe told CricketNext that the aforementioned four names have great leadership qualities and all they need is to keep working hard.
“Hardik Pandya will be the natural choice [for Sri Lanka series], with Rishabh Pant likely becoming his vice-captain,” Paranjpe told CricketNext in an exclusive interview.
“But there are four players in the actual captaincy stakes going into the future: Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul. Let’s not forget that KL Rahul is a fantastic player. There have been some reports about him not being available for ODI cricket. I’m not sure how authentic they are, but he is again a cross-format player.
“So here are the four names. I think Shreyas Iyer will need to cement his place in the T20 side before he can be thought of as a captain. But here are the four young leaders, and we are seeing them in the IPL as well. So here are the four young leaders, and one of them will be the guy for the long term,” he added.
As Gautam Gamhir comes onboard in the coach’s role, he will be expected to shape the team’s future. The former India captain will take charge in the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka were Pandya is most-likely expected to lead the side in 3 T20Is.
It has been reported that the duo of Rohit and Kohli will be rested for the ODIs, given the long Test calendar ahead. In that case, Rahul might be put in charge of the 50-over side.
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