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India is in search of a new T20I captain after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) indicated a change in captaincy after the T20 World Cup debacle. While Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul have been trusted with the job in the past with no Rohit Sharma around, Hardik Pandya has emerged as a clear favourite after his impressive performances as a captain. 

The Baroda all-rounder has done a terrific job as a captain for his franchise in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as well as for India. Hardik led Gujarat Titans to their maiden IPL title and that too in the debut season. GT won 11 of the 15 matches they played under Pandya at IPL 2022. Meanwhile, for India, Pandya has all the matches he has captained in. Overall, out of 19 matches played (as captain), Pandya has won 15. 

The India all-rounder has shown immense maturity while dealing with tough match situations and this has tempted many to bat for him as India’s next T20I captain. Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan has also imposed faith in his Gujarat Titans captain saying Pandya has the leadership skills to take Team India forward. 

"I have played under Hardik Pandya's captaincy. He has leadership qualities and skills to take his team forward, he showed the same in IPL. It is the Indian cricket board's call to name the next captain but I've enjoyed a lot playing under him," mentioned the leg-spinner.

Pandya to take over the reins from Rohit Sharma

All the talks around Hardik Pandya as India’s next T20I captain has not gone unnoticed by BCCI as the Indian cricket board has already made up its mind to appoint the all-rounder as the captain. According to reports, Pandya is set to be officially announced as Rohit Sharma’s successor in T20Is in January when Sri Lanka will visit India for a three-match series.