Not Hardik Pandya! Star India Cricketer In Race To Be Rohit's Deputy For Asia Cup, World Cup: Report

Hardik Pandya could be replaced as the vice-captain for Asia Cup and World Cup.

Hardik Pandya of India speaks to the media after a game against the West Indies at Broward County Stadium on August 13, 2023 in Lauderhill, Florida.

Source : Getty Images

With not much time left for Asia Cup 2023 which is set to commence on August 30, all eyes are on the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) squad announcemet for the continental tournament which will be played in the ODI format. Among a lot of speculation regarding who all could be in the squad and who misses out, a recent media report suggests another big change which could be the way going forward into the ODI World Cup 2023.

Notably, while it was all-rounder Hardik Pandya who has been the designated vice-captain to Rohit Sharma in ODIs, it now seems like with fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah back in the scheme of things, it could be the speedster who could give a tough fight to Hardik to be the vice-captain of the side.

"If you look in terms of leadership seniority, Bumrah is ahead of Pandya as he captained the Test team in 2022. He has also been ODI vice-captain before Pandya during the ODI tour of South Africa," a BCCI source was quoted by news agency PTI on conditions of anonymity.

"Don't be surprised if you see Bumrah being made ODI deputy to Rohit for both Asia Cup and World Cup. There is a reason why he was handed captaincy in Ireland instead of Ruturaj," the source added.

The fact that India lose under Pandya's captaincy in the T20I series against West Indies could have a role to play in this decision. Even though the pace-bowling all-rounder has had a great record leading the Gujarat Titans (GT) side in the IPL, many reckon that much of that credit goes to coach Ashish Nehra instead.

Meanwhile, a separate report suggests that India head coach Rahul Dravid could also be part of the selection meeting along with captain Rohit Sharma. This is for the first time that a coach would be allowed to be part of the selection meeting. While Team India have had some high profile namesas head coaches in the past- the likes of Ravi Shastri and Anil Kumble- even they were not allowed to be part of the selection meeting.