All-rounder Hardik Pandya led India to victory in the T20 series against Sri Lanka under his captaincy. Team India won the first T20 match but had to face defeat in the second T20. Then in the third and final T20 match, thanks to Suryakumar Yadav's brilliant century, India won by a huge margin of 91 runs.
Hardik's leadership is also being praised a lot. Meanwhile, former Indian veteran cricketer Ajay Jadeja has given a big statement that Rohit Sharma should handover the captaincy to Pandya as MS Dhoni did with Virat Kohli in the past.
"He (Pandya) used Umran well, he's done all the right things. The only thing, when I see him again I'll say just because a week ago you were not captain and a week later you are doesn't mean you don't have to run as fast as you were running or fielding. Or being as athletic as you were, you as a player should not go down. And just don't worry about the team alone, because you as a champion player is more important than leading.
Like MS Dhoni give it to Virat Kohli: Ajay Jadeja
“At the moment we've still got Rohit Sharma, who has been leading and his records show that he is the best captain. There is never a king waiting, all kings had to grab their place. Because waiting means it's the right of a king who he gives it to. Like Mahendra Singh Dhoni gave it to Virat Kohli, it wasn't the board or selectors. Mahendra Singh Dhoni who picked Virat Kohli and said I think you should take it on from here. I feel that's how it should be,” noted Jadeja during an interaction on Cricbuzz.
It is believed that the Indian Cricket Board is preparing Hardik Pandya as the next T20 captain. It is also being said ithat Hardik will take over the captaincy of the Indian team in next year's 20-20 World Cup. However, the focus of the board is currently on the ODI World Cup, which will be hosted by India in 2023.
The Board has not officially handed over the regular captaincy of the T20 team to Hardik Pandya. When Rohit is unfit or out of the team, Hardik takes charge in the T20 format in his absence.