Shastri expects India to go ‘the 2007 route’ for next T20 World Cup with Hardik as captain

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By Webdesk


Ravi Shastri believes that with the next men’s T20 World Cup just over a year away, Hardik Pandya will immediately become the captain of the Indian team.

“Anyone can qualify to play, but I think Hardik will lead,” Shastri said on ESPNcricinfo’s Order. “The next two World Cups [after the 2023 ODI World Cup] its T20 cricket. He is already [standby] captain of India [in T20Is], so he continues unless he is not fit. i think she [the selectors] will take a new direction. There is a lot of talent in the youth right now. You may have a fairly new team; there will be some new faces if not a new team.

“There will still be plenty who played in the last T20I match India played, but there will be some new faces as what we’ve seen here in this year’s IPL is refreshingly young talent.”

Rohit Sharma is India’s designated captain in several formats, but he has not played in a T20I since the 2022 T20 World Cup. KL Rahul was his alternate at the tournament; his last T20I was also at the World Cup. In the meantime, India has played eight T20Is and Hardik has led them all with Rohit rested. Of those eight, India has won five, lost two and drawn one.
During the last T20 World Cup, India’s intention with the bat came under scrutiny, not for the first time. In the semi-final they scored 168, which England chased with ten wickets and four overs to spare.

Since then, India has tried many new faces with good results. And Shastri suggested “the route of 2007” for the 2024 T20 World Cup. When Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid and some others withdrew, India had designated a relatively inexperienced squad for the inaugural T20 World Cup, and India dragged the trophy under the captaincy of MS Dhoni.

“I think they’ll go the 2007 route where they’ll identify talent, and Hardik will have a lot of choices when it comes to selection,” Shastri said. “Because his ideas will be different; he has played the IPL as captain of a franchise and has seen a lot of other players. He will have his input.”

When asked if it’s Hardik who should have a conversation with the senior players about the future, Shastri said: “Of course. Because he’s the guy who takes the boys to the park. Everything he says has to be important.” and listened.”

Until IPL 2022, Hardik had no captaincy experience at senior level. But he caused a stir as he led Gujarat Titans, one of the two new teams that season, to the title. Also this season, Titans are almost through to the playoffs with the last few games in the league stage.

The only concern with Hardik could be his workload management as he is also expected to play a major role for India in the upcoming ODI World Cup and his injury struggles are well known. Shastri said it shouldn’t be a problem as he no longer plays long cricket.

“It’s not like he plays three formats,” said Shastri. “Everything is separated now. You have test matches, so when there is a test series, he will have a month’s time to rest and recover. He has full confidence in his own abilities. The fact that he is now being fully fit makes a huge difference. Form plays an important role. If he is fit then he might be one of the best T20 players in the world.”

Also in November last year, Shastri had said that “there’s no harm in identifying a new T20I captain, and if his name is Hardik Pandya, so be it”.



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