Ever since Virat Kohli’s departure as India's all-format captain, Team India have seen as many as six different players leading the side across formats.

While Rohit Sharma is the designated all-format skipper, the likes of KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan and Jasprit Bumrah have also got the opportunity to captain the country in the last one year.

Amid all this, one veteran cricketer who has never gotten the chance to lead the Indian cricket team is Ravichandran Ashwin.

While Ashwin is open to the opportunity of captaining India, it isn't something that bothers him a lot.

"Once I hang up my boots, I think I'll have an answer for that. But until then my dreams will be open, I'll be looking forward to opportunities," Ashwin told The New Indian Express in an interview.

During the recently-concluded T20I series against Sri Lanka at home, all-rounder Hardik Pandya led the Indian side as the likes of Rohit, Kohli and Rahul were not picked in the squad.

In recent times, Hardik has impressed one and all with his captaincy. He led the Gujarat Titans (GT) to the IPL 2022 triumph and then captained India to T20I series victory on the tour of Ireland and New Zealand before defeating Sri Lanka a couple of days back.  

Commenting on Hardik’s leadership skills, Ashwin said: "He is a very smart cricketer. The thing I like about him is he is very chill. Because he's chill and relaxed, I think it will keep the team atmosphere pretty relaxed and players will perform well as a unit."

In the IPL, Ashwin got the opportunity to showcase his leadership prowess but failed to make a mark. He captain the Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) in 2018 and 2019, winning 16 matches out of 28 and failing to take the team to playoffs in both seasons.