It was only a matter of time before Hardik Pandya was officially presented as India's future white-ball captain. The selectors felt it was the right time to make him the T20I captain in Rohit Sharma's absence, whether it was only for the Sri Lanka series, was not clarified but he has leapfrogged KL Rahul in the captaincy race, was confirmed. The all-rounder was appointed Rohit's deputy for the ODI series. Rahul was India's designated vice-captain till the last series in Bangladesh. In fact, he led India in Rohit's absence in the last ODI.
Hardik has already led India successfully in Ireland and New Zealand but his captaincy skills first came to the forefront during IPL 2022. He left Mumbai Indians, and was appointed the captain of the new franchise Gujarat Titans. Hardik performed with both bat and ball and led GT to the title on the first attempt. Since then, his graph as a leader has only been rising.
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar said not many people thought Hardik would be this successful as a captain in the IPL.
"We were all taken by surprise. Come on, who thought Hardik Pandya would be such a raging success in the IPL as a captain? In a long season, just the way he handles the team. Just how he looked as a leader was surprising. Considering he is bowling now and the impact he is making on the field, this is the right time to reward Hardik with leadership," Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.
{{/usCountry}}"We were all taken by surprise. Come on, who thought Hardik Pandya would be such a raging success in the IPL as a captain? In a long season, just the way he handles the team. Just how he looked as a leader was surprising. Considering he is bowling now and the impact he is making on the field, this is the right time to reward Hardik with leadership," Manjrekar told ESPNCricinfo.
{{/usCountry}}Manjreker further added that KL Rahu's dip in form played a major role in the right-hander losing the vice-captaincy.
"KL Rahul's form is starting to make his situation a little tricky. He didn't have a great T20 World Cup, looked out of sorts in the Test series against Bangladesh," Manjrekar said.
Hardik will lead a young Indian side in the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka starting January 3. Many believe this is the beginning of India's preparations for the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA with Hardik as the new leader.