Irfan Pathan Explains Major Risk In Making Hardik Pandya India's T20I Captain

A second-string Indian team will clash against New Zealand in a white-ball series, starting November 18.  India will play 3 T20Is and as many as ODIs against New Zealand.

Irfan Pathan talked about the importance of having a group of leaders in a team, also highlighting a major risk behind making Hardik the new captain.

Source : AFP

New Delhi: Calls have grown for a change in team India's captaincy in T20 format following Rohit Sharma-led national team's heartbreaking exit in T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final, crashing out against England. Cricket pundits and fans have criticized Rohit's selection calls and his leadership skills. The senior opener is also facing heat for his dismal batting form in the tournament. The next T20 World Cup is just two years away and many have opined that star all-rounder Hardik Pandya should replace Rohit as India's captain in the shortest format.

Reacting to the trending debate, ex-India all-rounder Irfan Pathan talked about the importance of having a group of leaders in a team, also highlighting a major risk behind making Hardik the new captain. "So, I'm not saying that if you change the captain, you change the result, if you go like that, you're not going to change the result. And with Hardik Pandya, you need to understand, we all need to understand, that he's a fast-bowling all-rounder. He has injury issues as well. What if he is your captain who is getting injured right before the World cup? And if you don't have any other leader ready, you'll be in a mess," said Pathan.

"So, what I personally think is that Hardik Pandya is a leader, who has done very well in the Gujarat Titians, won IPL, won the championship trophy. You need to find not one, but two leaders going forward to build their mark. You know just like we talk about openers - we need to have a group of openers, we also need to have a group of leaders," he added.

A second-string Indian team will clash against New Zealand in a white-ball series, starting November 18.  India will play 3 T20Is and as many as ODIs against New Zealand.

India’s T20I team: Hardik Pandya (C), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC and WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav

India’s ODI Squad: Shikhar Dhawan (C), Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC and WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Shardul Thakur, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Sen, Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar