Hardik Pandya Can Replace Rohit Sharma As Captain Of Team India After 2023 ODI World Cup: Sunil Gavaskar

Whenever Rohit Sharma was absent, Hardik Pandya impressed with his captaincy skills in limited-overs cricket. His medium-pace bowling and explosive batting bring balance to the team and make him an impact player in the middle order. Former captain Sunil Gavaskar believes that Pandya will prove to be a game-changer for India during the upcoming three-match ODI series against Australia. With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy retained 2-1, the focus now shifts to the ODIs, which begin on Friday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Due to family commitments, Rohit will miss the first ODI, and Pandya will lead the Indian team. Gavaskar sees this as an opportunity for Pandya to stake his claim for a leadership role in one-dayers, in addition to the World Cup. The 29-year-old all-rounder already holds the incumbent leader position for India in the shortest format, having captained Gujarat Titans to the title win in their maiden appearance in the Indian Premier League 2022 season.

The winning hug between Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya. pic.twitter.com/Sg1rppLAQc — Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) August 28, 2022

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Gavaskar emphasized the importance of Pandya's position in India's middle-order.

Gavaskar told Star Sports, "I have been very impressed with his captaincy at the T20 level for the Gujarat Titans and for India when he is captaining the T20 side. I do believe that if he wins the first game in Mumbai, then you can almost stamp him as the India captain once the World Cup is over in 2023."

"He can be an impact player as well as a game changer in the middle-order. Even for the Gujarat team, he was promoting himself up the order knowing that this is the time when the team needed some momentum and push, and he would do that," Gavaskar said.

According to Gavaskar, Pandya's leadership approach is favored by the players.

"So, someone who is prepared to take on responsibility, lead from the front, and who will not ask the players to do something that he wants to do himself, is highly crucial," he said.

"What you see with Hardik Pandya as a captain is a sense of comfort with the rest of the team. Maybe, it's the way he handles the players, puts his arm around the players… He just seems to give the players a sense of comfort. That's so important... to give a player a sense of comfort so that he can go and play his natural game. I think he encourages them, which is a wonderful sign."

Former Indian player and commentator, Ajit Agarkar, has expressed his confidence that Rohit Sharma will perform well with the bat when he joins the Indian squad.

"His record speaks for itself. You do not need to say anything about Rohit's performance in white ball cricket. He has taken a slightly different approach at times, trying to be the aggressor at the top of the order," Agarkar said. "Maybe, he changed it a little bit in the last series, giving himself a little more time and got the hundred. I just hope he plays every game that India plays from now on, every one-day, because you want your captain out there to just have a pattern of play," he added.