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Having recently clinched both the T20 World Cup 2024 and Champions Trophy 2025 titles back-to-back, the Indian men's cricket team has firmly established its dominance in the realm of white-ball cricket. However, with Rohit Sharma entering the later stages of his career and already stepping away from the T20I setup, having retired from that format, a crucial question looms large for Indian cricket whether who will be the next leader to take the reins in the white-ball format.
In a somewhat unexpected move, Suryakumar Yadav took over the captaincy from Rohit in the shortest format, especially after widespread speculation that Hardik Pandya was being groomed to lead the T20I side. Meanwhile, Shubman Gill currently holds the position of vice-captain in One Day Internationals.
To me, Hardik Pandya is my white ball captain: Kapil Dev
Nevertheless, for the legendary Kapil Dev, who led India to their first-ever World Cup title back in 1983, the answer seems quite clear. Kapil has unequivocally thrown his support behind Hardik Pandya to take on the leadership role for India in both ODIs and T20Is.
“To me, Hardik Pandya is my white ball captain. There are many contenders for the post but Pandya is my choice,” Kapil told MyKhel.
Kapil Dev's backing of Hardik Pandya as the future white-ball captain arrives amidst ongoing debate and varied opinions regarding Hardik's leadership abilities. Hardik's previous stint as captain of the Mumbai Indians upon his return to the franchise last year was far from successful, with the team finishing at the bottom of the table with only four win out of fourteen matches. This year hasn't started much better for MI under his captaincy either, as they have managed to win only one of their first four matches.
“Pandya is relatively young and can build a team around him for the next ICC events,” Kapil Dev added.
Pandya's leadership journey in IPL has certainly been a mixed bag. The star all-rounder enjoyed a remarkable debut season as captain for the Gujarat Titans, leading them to the IPL 2022 title. He continued to impress the following year, guiding the Titans to another appearance in the final. However, ahead of the 2024 auction, the Mumbai Indians made a massive move by bringing Hardik back to their franchise and subsequently naming him as the new captain of the side, a decision that was met with considerable controversy and sparked much discussion among fans and pundits alike.
Notably, Pandya currently focuses solely on the white-ball formats for the Indian national team, with his last appearance in a Test match dating back more than six years. Moreover, the all-rounder does not participate in domestic red-ball tournaments. Considering this, Kapil Dev explicitly stated his belief that India will need to adopt a strategy of having different captains to lead the team across the various formats of the game moving forward.
“Ideally, Hardik should also play Test cricket and since he isn't playing, India will need multiple captain for three formats,” Kapil Dev concluded.
