There is a long debate over India’s Captaincy recently. Adding to that, Gautam Gambhir, the former Indian batsman, thinks Prithvi Shaw may someday run for the captain of India. He also chose Hardik Pandya, who has already captained India in T20Is.
Let’s look at the reasons why Gautam Gambhir chose Hardik Pandya or Prithvi Shaw as future India captains.
Reasons for Hardik to be Next Team India Captain
Following India’s loss from the T20 World Cup semi-finals last month, Hardik has been mentioned as a potential Rohit Sharma replacement. At least for T20 Internationals. He has earned some captaincy experience through time as well. He led the newly minted Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in May. Then he took India’s T20I team on its first-ever tour of Ireland. There the team won the series 2-0. More recently, without senior players, he led India to a 1-0 series victory in the T20Is played in New Zealand.
Is Prithvi Shaw Really a Captain Material?
Gambhir didn’t indicate in which format he regarded Shaw as a future captain, but the other selection, Shaw, has failed to earn a regular spot even in India’s second-string squads over the last year. Shaw has experienced more than simply a loss of form throughout the course of his brief career. His health and lifestyle choices have been under investigation ever since he was banned for a doping offense in 2019.
According to reports, Shaw failed a yo-yo test in March of this year. His score of less than 15 was well below the minimum requirement for men set by the BCCI, which is 16.5.
Shaw only got to play four more Tests after making his Test debut in 2018, the same year he helped India win the Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand. Shaw has made just infrequent appearances in restricted overs. He last represented India in July 2021, when he travelled to Sri Lanka with a reserve team for three ODIs and as many T20Is.
Talking about Captaincy Role, Gambir said:
“Hardik Pandya obviously is in line,” Gambhir said at an event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) in New Delhi on Sunday. “But that’s going to be unfortunate for Rohit because I think judging his captaincy in only one ICC event is not the right way to probably judge him.”
Adding about Prithvi, he said. “The reason I’ve picked Prithvi Shaw, I know a lot of people talk about his off-field activities. But that is what the job of the coach and the selectors are,” Gambhir said. “The selectors’ job isn’t just to pick the 15, but also to get people walk the right path.
“Prithvi Shaw is one I feel can be a very aggressive captain. A very successful captain because you see that aggression in the way a person plays the sport.”
