'India Will Go 2007 Route,' Shastri Backs Hardik Pandya as Captain Over Rohit Sharma
Ravi Shastri and Hardik Pandya [Image- Twitter]
Former Team India head coach Ravi Shastri believes that all-rounder Hardik Pandya should permanently replace Rohit Sharma as the captain of the Indian T20I team.
Pandya has led India in each of the eight T20Is since the last T20 World Cup, where India crashed out of the semi-finals courtesy of a 10-wicket walloping by England.
While Rohit has not featured in a single T20I post the shambles that was the World Cup campaign Down Under, he still has not been removed from the post.
But, with the next T20 World Cup less than a year away, and India boasting multiple options in all departments courtesy of the IPL, Shastri believes that the selectors should go the 2007 route, when senior players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid didn't travel to South Africa for the inaugural T20 World Cup.
Here's what Ravi Shastri told ESPNCricinfo:
''He (Hardik Pandya) is already captain of India so he will continue unless he is not fit. I think they (selectors) will (move in new direction). There is a lot of talent in the youth at the moment. We might have a new team. There will be some new faces. What we have seen here in this year's IPL is some refreshing young talent."
"Now I think they (BCCI) will go the 2007 route, where they will identify the talent and he (Pandya) will have a choice. His ideas are different. He has played the IPL, is a captain and has seen other players."
The next T20 World Cup is set to take place in the Caribbean islands in the summer of 2024, where Team India will once again look to break the 17-year-drought.
 "Yash Mittal")
