Not Hardik Pandya! Gautam Gambhir's surprise pick to replace Rohit Sharma as T20I captain

With Rohit Sharma retiring from T20Is last month, Team India will be having a new captain in the shortest format of the captain soon.

The veteran batsman had not played a single T20I last year but was recalled to the team earlier this year only for the T20 World Cup. Rohit completely justified the decision by leading India to their second T20 World Cup title and first since 2007.

He also led the team from the very front and finished the competition as India's highest run-scorer. Soon after the victory over South Africa in the final, Rohit also brought down the curtains on his illustrious T20I career. The BCCI is set to announce India's new T20I captain when they announce the squad for the upcoming three-match series against Sri Lanka.

Hardik Pandya not to replace Rohit Sharma:

A number of players are in contention to replace Rohit Sharma as the captain of the Indian T20I side. However, recent reports stated that Hardik Pandya is likely to be the new captain. The all-rounder was the captain of the team last year when Rohit was not playing T20Is. Hardik Pandya was also the vice-captain of the team for the T20 World Cup.

While Hardik Pandya is seen by many as the frontrunner to become India's new T20I captain, PTI's Kushan Sarkar has reported that the selectors and the team management could spring a big surprise. Taking to X, Sarkar wrote that India would be having a new captain till the 2026 T20 World Cup and it might not be Hardik Pandya.

"We could be in for some surprise. we could have a new captain till 2026 T20 WC and it might not be Hardik Pandya. The new captain might just be new head coach Gautam Gambhir and selection committee's unanimous choice. let's wait," wrote Sarkar.

Soon after Sarkar's post, Jagran News' Abhishek Tripathi hinted that Suryakumar Yadav is likely to replace Rohit as the new captain, writing: "The Sun is rising."

सूर्य उदय हो रहा है.... https://t.co/3rhS6odCDf

— Abhishek Tripathi / अभिषेक त्रिपाठी (@abhishereporter) July 16, 2024

Suryakumar had also led the T20I team last year but only when Pandya was sidelined due to an injury. The right-handed batsman is one of the best T20I batsmen in the world and has been the team's backbone in the last few years. He is currently the highest-ranked Indian batsman in T20Is.

Meanwhile, the T20I series between India and Sri Lanka is scheduled to be played from July 27 to 30. After the T20Is, India and Sri Lanka will also play three ODIs against each other.