Danish Kaneria Comes Up With A Surprise Candidate To Lead India In Sri Lanka
Published - 29 May 2021, 01:48 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 12:47 AM
Former Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria has named a surprise choice to captain India when they tour Sri Lanka in July. While India’s first-choice players remain in England to participate in five Tests, a bunch of fringe players would be in Sri Lanka to play white-ball cricket. Danish Kaneria believes that Sanju Samson should captain the men in blue in Sri Lanka to be ready for the future.
Though Sanju Samson is a player of high calibre, he has not done justice to his talent in international cricket. The elegant right-handed batsman has often thrown away his wickets after being set at the crease, inviting frustrations amongst the selectors. But Samson, who led the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2021, batted responsibly and captained the side well, showing promising signs for India in the future.
According to Danish Kaneria, Sanju Samson and Shikhar Dhawan are the only options for India as captaincy choices in Sri Lanka. The former leggie underlined that Samson looked good as Rajasthan Royals’ skipper and behind the stumps. But Danish Kaneria believes since Shikhar Dhawan is the senior player, he holds the upper hand in that aspect. But he doubts the southpaw’s longevity in the game; hence, he opts for Samson to lead.
“The Sri Lanka tour is a great opportunity for India to possibly find its next captain and groom him. The choices aren’t a lot. In fact, there are only two options. One is Sanju Samson, who has captained Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and looked good behind the stumps as well. The second option is the most senior player, Shikhar Dhawan. He is a senior player in ODIs and T20Is. However, is he a long-term option to lead India in the future? Or Samson has the time and opportunity to improve himself going ahead? Or will Hardik Pandya be captaincy material? All these are tough questions. But as far as I am concerned, I will go with a player who, in the future, can lead India,” Danish Kaneria said as quoted by Hindustan Times.
Shikhar Dhawan is likely to get India’s captaincy in Sri Lanka: Danish Kaneria
Danish Kaneria highlighted that Shikhar Dhawan remains the frontrunner to lead India in Sri Lanka; however, he would go with Samson. The 40-year old stressed that India should be prepared for the future in case Virat Kohli decides to step down from captaincy. Hence, he thinks now is the right time to groom Samson as the leader.
“Shikhar Dhawan is likely to get India’s captaincy in Sri Lanka. Not Shaw, Samson, but Dhawan. But if it were up to me, I would have to go with Samson. We should be ready, that in future, if Virat is willing to step down as captain, then he should be the next in line. We have to be ready that if Kohli isn’t around, we need to groom someone. So I would go with Samson but Dhawan remains a strong contender,” he added.
