New Delhi, India

BCCI Secretary Jay Shah opened up on prospects of Hardik Pandya succeeding Rohit Sharma as India's T20I captain after the just-concluded 2024 T20 World Cup. After India beat South Africa by 7 runs in the T20 WC final, in Barbados on Saturday (June 29), to lift the coveted title for the second time, captain Rohit announced his T20I retirement. Thus, speculations are rife that Hardik will replace Rohit as the next Indian captain given he was leading in the shortest format when Hitman was away (from the 2022 T20 WC semifinal till end of 2023).

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Shah said as quoted by Hindustan Times, "Captaincy will be decided by the selectors, and we will announce it after discussing with them. You asked about Hardik, there were lot of questions over his form but we and selectors showed faith in him and he proved himself."

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HARDIK'S CAPTAINCY CREDENTIALS

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Hardik has captained India in 16 T20Is, leading them to 10 victories. The star all-rounder -- who picked 11 wickets and scored 144 runs at 151.57 in the T20 WC 2024 edition -- has also led the national side in 3 ODIs. He led the Gujarat Titans (GT) to the IPL 2022 championship in their maiden season and took over as Mumbai Indians (MI) captain, replacing Rohit, after rejoining the franchise ahead of IPL 2024.

India's next assignment is a five-match T20I series versus Zimbabwe, in the African nation starting on July 6. Shubman Gill has been named the captain of the second-stringed side with many regulars being rested following the T20 WC in West Indies and USA. Following that, India will travel to Sri Lanka to play 3 T20Is and ODIs each. The new skipper is expected to be announced by then.