5 Young Indian Cricketers Who Can Captain Team India in Future

It is safe to say that a captain’s role is extremely vital to a team’s success in the game of cricket. He is the one who makes the most important decisions and builds a strong team. A captain’s vision helps a team reach great heights and dominate the game on the biggest stage. Over the years, India have been blessed with some of the finest leaders in the game of cricket.

From Kapil Dev to Mohammad Azharuddin, from Sourav Ganguly to MS Dhoni, India have had some great captains. Significant contributions from all these cricketers have helped India become a lethal force in International Cricket. Currently, Rohit Sharma leads the Indian Cricket Team in T20 internationals, while Virat Kohli is the captain in the other two formats.

There is no denying that both are exceptional leaders and have proved their mettle on numerous occasions. But, having said that, there are concerns are to who would take over the leadership roles in the future. Has India produced enough players who have the ability to lead the team in the future? Thanks to IPL, there are a good number of options to look at. On that note, here’s a look at five young Indian Cricketers who can captain India in the future.

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5 Young Indian Cricketers Who Can Captain Team India in Future

1. Rishabh Pant:

Consistent performances in IPL and international cricket have helped Rishabh Pant become a first-choice wicket-keeper batsman in the Indian team across all three formats. Pant is a highly valued player in the team and is also looked a future captain.

A shoulder injury to Shreyas Iyer helped Pant take over the leadership role for Delhi Capitals in the 2021 edition of IPL. He led Delhi Capitals in Shreyas Iyer’s absence in IPL 2021. Under his leadership, Delhi finished the league stage at the number one position with 10 wins in 14 matches. Rishabh Pant and Co., unfortunately, lost both Qualifier 1 and Qualifier 2 and thus couldn’t win the title.

Nevertheless, the 24-year old wicket-keeper batsman was praised for handling the boys really well and taking gutsy decisions in his very first assignment as skipper in IPL. Ahead of IPL 2022, Delhi Capitals are likely to retain Rishabh Pant as captain and this could further help him improve his leadership skills.

2. Shreyas Iyer

There is no denying the fact that Shreyas Iyer loves taking leadership roles. Captaining different teams in domestic cricket tournaments has only helped him mature as a cricketer and raise his game. He has led Mumbai in the domestic tournaments and also led Delhi Capitals in IPL.

Shreyas Iyer took over the captaincy from Gautam Gambhir mid-way during the 2018 edition of IPL. He helped the team reach the playoffs for two consecutive occasions in 2019 and 2020.

Unfortunately, due to an injury, he couldn’t lead the franchise in IPL 2021. Shreyas Iyer certainly has got leadership skills and can become a great captain if given the opportunity to lead the Indian Cricket Team in the future.

3. Prithvi Shaw

The 22-year old Prithvi Shaw is a highly talented cricketer and he is looked like the future of Indian cricket. Shaw has been a consistent performer for Delhi Capitals in IPL and is expected to serve Indian Cricket for many years in the future.

Prithvi Shaw boasts of impeccable leadership skills. He was named as the captain of the Indian team in the under-19 ICC World Cup, held in New Zealand from 13^th January 2018 to 2^nd February 2018. Under his leadership, India went on to win the tournament after beating Australia by 8 wickets in the final.

Prithvi Shaw has played 5 Tests and 6 ODIs in his international cricket career so far, scoring 339 and 189 runs respectively. It will be interesting to see how he performs in the next couple of years both in domestic as well as international cricket.

4. Shubman Gill

A lot of current, as well as former cricketers, have spoken highly of Shubman Gill in the last few years. Gill has led teams at every level he has played so far. He was the vice-captain of India’s Under-19 team which won the Under-19 World Cup in 2018. He has also led his state team Punjab on several occasions in different domestic tournaments.

Gill is an integral part of Kolkata Knight Riders in the franchise. Ahead of IPL 2022, the franchise might make him the new skipper. The Indian cricketer, unfortunately, has lost his place in the Test team. Having said that, he is just 22-year old and has a bright future ahead of him. One shouldn’t get surprised if Gill went on to become the captain of the Indian Cricket Team in the future.

5. Ruturaj Gaikwad:

Ruturaj Gaikwad got limited opportunities for CSK in the 2020 edition of the Indian Premier League. The 24-year-old, however, showed his class in the following year. He played some outstanding knocks in the 2021 edition of IPL and helped CSK win their fourth title in IPL history.

Gaikwad finished the season as the highest run-scorer in the tournament, scoring 635 runs in 16 matches. The CSK opener showed everyone that he has the ability to play at the highest level. With MS Dhoni likely to retire from IPL soon, Gaikwad might be made his successor.

Ruturaj Gaikwad was selected in India’s squad for the white-ball series against Sri Lanka and played two T20 internationals for the country. Gaikwad certainly has the potential to represent India at the highest level. One can expect him to become a regular in the Indian team in the next 2-3 years.