IND vs SL: "Rohit Sharma And Hardik Pandya Will Be The Captain And Vice-Captain Leading Into The World Cup For Sure" - Dinesh Karthik

Veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik believes Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya will be captain and vice-captain of the Indian team at the 2023 ODI World Cup on home soil. Players like Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah have led the Men in Blue in various series in 2022.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the squads for the upcoming T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka will play three T20Is and three ODIs in India. Hardik Pandya was named T20I captain, Rohit Sharma returned for ODIs, and the former was named as his deputy despite KL Rahul’s availability.

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Hardik Pandya Has Thrown His Name Strongly In The Mix – Dinesh Karthik

Speaking on Cricbuzz, Karthik said that the leadership of the Indian team heading into the World Cup will be a close call between Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya. Karthik believes Sharma and Pandya will be the Indian team’s captain and vice-captain at the World Cup. The Tamil Nadu batter stated that KL Rahul has fallen down the pecking order.

“Absolutely. I think leadership definitely, for me, is a close call. And I think it will be between Rohit and Hardik Pandya. These two are the big names. I know KL Rahul has been the white-ball vice-captain, but I do think Hardik Pandya has thrown his name strongly in the mix and it will be captain, vice-captain role between a Hardik and a Rohit in the coming 12 months, because I think he has shown his skills in the IPL as a leader and that might be coming through soon for team India as well,” Dinesh Karthik said.

“So, for the moment, it looks like even though there are a lot of other leaders who have captained India in the recent 12 months because of the amount of cricket played with the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant. All these players donning the captain’s hat for a bit. Jasprit Bumrah as well. But for the moment, it will be a toss up between Rohit and Hardik Pandya or rather Rohit and Hardik Pandya will be the captain and vice-captain leading into the World Cup for sure,” he added.

Also read: IPL 2023: “It’s The Same Old Story I Think When It Comes To That, We Need Couple Of Guys In The Top Order To Fire” – AB de Villiers On Royal Challengers Bangalore

Virat Kohli | Rohit Sharma | Rishabh Pant | KL Rahul | Suryakumar Yadav | Sanju Samson | Shreyas Iyer | Yuzvendra Chahal | Jasprit Bumrah