Veteran Indian wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik shared his thoughts on who will lead Team India in the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 after the BCCI announced ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming six-match white-ball series against Sri Lanka at home.
Hardik has already been seen as the next India captain in limited-overs cricket, and the BCCI confirmed the notions as well after he was named captain for the T20I series and vice-captain for the ODI series against Sri Lanka on Tuesday (December 27).
Well, ever since Pandya led Gujarat Titans to their maiden IPL title in their debut season earlier this year, the Indian all-rounder’s stocks have incredibly risen, and of course, he has led Team India brilliantly in T20Is so far winning series in Ireland and New Zealand, so he is an obvious choice for the leadership role in the future.
Dinesh Karthik was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz: “Absolutely. I think leadership definitely, for me, is a close call. And I think it will be between Rohit and Hardik Pandya. These two are the big names. I know KL Rahul has been the white-ball vice-captain, but I do think Hardik Pandya has thrown his name strongly in the mix.”
Meanwhile, Karthik said that it will be a toss-up between Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya for the captaincy for the ODI World Cup 2023 in India, but it is clear that the duo will be in charge of the side.
He continued, “It will be captain vice-captain role between a Hardik and a Rohit in the coming 12 months because I think he has shown his skills in the IPL as a leader and that might be coming through soon for team India as well. So, for the moment, it looks like even though there are a lot of other leaders who have captained India in the recent 12 months because of the amount of cricket played with the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant.”
Karthik signed off by saying, “All these players donning the captain's hat for a bit. Jasprit Bumrah as well. But for the moment, it will be a toss-up between Rohit and Hardik Pandya or rather Rohit and Hardik Pandya will be the captain and vice-captain leading into the World Cup for sure.”
