Not Shubman Gill! Saba Karim names top contenders to replace Rohit Sharma as T20I captain
Former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim has picked two players who could be Rohit Sharma's successors for India's next T20I captain. Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav are the contenders for the role according to Karim.
Rohit Sharma announced his T20I retirement after India won the T20 World Cup 2024 by defeating South Africa in the final at Barbados. Along with Rohit, Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja also announced their retirement from the game's shortest format.
Saba Karim picks Rohit Sharma's successor for India's next T20I captain
While speaking to Sony Sports, Saba Karim reckoned that the first job of the selectors will be to pick the new captain for T20Is. He felt that there are two options for the job, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav.
"The first thing that needs to be decided is who will captain in T20Is. Rohit Sharma has retired, he won't play T20Is. So you will have a new captain. I feel there are two contenders," Karim said.
"If we see logically, Hardik Pandya should become the captain because he was the vice-captain in the winning World Cup campaign. He also captained India in the past. I feel the preparation now should be for the next T20 World Cup which is going to happen after two years," Karim explained his logic to select Hardik Pandya as the new T20I captain.
Hardik Pandya was India's vice-captain in the T20 World Cup 2024 and he seems to be the likeliest option to replace Rohit Sharma as India's new T20I captain. Pandya has an excellent record as captain in the IPL.
Under his leadership, Gujarat Titans finished as the winners and runners-up in 2022 and 2023 respectively. However, Mumbai Indians finished last in IPL 2024 under Hardik Pandya. Hardik has also led India in 16 T20Is and India won 10 games out of them.
Suryakumar Yadav is another captaincy option for India, feels Saba Karim
Karim also suggested that Suryakumar Yadav could be another option to become India's new T20I captain. The former India player felt that Suryakumar has already led India in some games and his performance did not get affected.
"I feel the discussion should be about SKY because Suryakumar Yadav captained India in the home series against Australia. India defeated Australia there and he also batted well. So he can definitely come forward as an option," he said.
Suryakumar Yadav led India in seven T20Is, out of which India won five games. He smashed 300 runs in those seven matches at an average of 42.85 and a strike rate of 164.83.
Saba Karim further mentioned that it remains to be seen which player can take the team forward in T20Is. He backed Hardik Pandya for the role as he is already the vice-captain of the team.
"As far as I feel, the discussion will be about who will take the team forward in T20Is, who is the most suitable candidate. As I said, since Hardik Pandya has been the vice-captain, he should be made if you see logically, but in the end, the selectors and head coach will have to think whether he can take the team forward as a captain," he said.
India's squad for the T20I and the ODI series for the tour of Sri Lanka will be announced in a few days. The selectors are likely to announce India's new T20I captain while announcing the squad.
