Speculations have been running rife and nearly all the speculations tell indicate to Hardik Pandya as the frontrunner for the captaincy role in the T20I format. This comes after India’s T20 World Cup 2022 efforts went in vain with a comprehensive loss to England in the semi-final by 10 wickets. From one captain to another potential captain, New Zealand’s cricket team skipper Kane Williamson put in his two pennies on the debate.
Speaking in a media interaction organised by Amazon Prime Video with days to go to the T20I series, Williamson hailed Pandya for his success both as a player and a captain, calling him a “special cricketer”.
"Hardik obviously is a superstar of the game. I played against him on a number of occasions. He is one of the most sought-after match-winners. And the fact that he is an all-rounder, his bowling going really well and can hit the ball like he does. He is a special cricketer," Williamson said.
However, Williamson said India is enriched with a vast amount of experienced players to rely on, so choosing a new captain would not be a problem for India.
"As for his leadership skill goes, I haven't played with him so I exactly don't know, but he has had a lot of success in IPL. And with the leadership within India, they have got a number of great and experienced players. So their leadership and guidance of that under Rohit Sharma and the likes of Virat Kohli will be very helpful," Williamson added.
Now with the next T20 World Cup being two years away, it becomes infeasible for the current captain of the Indian team, Rohit Sharma, 35, to continue with age being against him. Therefore, all eyes are on Pandya to pick up the captaincy baton for India noticeably after a successful IPL where he led the team Gujrat Titans in their debut season and won the title.
Pandya will be captaining India in the three-match T20I series against New Zealand which will kick off on Friday, November 18, 2022. The all-rounder has previously led the Indian team in three T20Is and has won all three of them.
