3 players who can succeed Hardik Pandya as GT captain for IPL 2024 ft. Shubman Gill
With the retention deadline for the IPL 2024 auction set for Sunday, November 26, the buzz around the league has hit fever pitch.
Reports have emerged of Gujarat Titans (GT) skipper Hardik Pandya returning to the Mumbai Indians (MI). An all-cash deal is speculated, with MI expected to pay GT a transfer fee apart from a salary of ₹15 crore.
Pandya, who began his career at MI, was drafted in by the Titans as their skipper ahead of their first season in the IPL in 2022. He led them with success as they tasted glory at the first time of asking before nearly defending their title in May this year. The Titans went down to the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in a last-ball thriller in the summit clash in Ahmedabad.
While the deal is yet to be officially announced, the big question that GT will have to answer is who takes over as their captain for IPL 2024 should Pandya move out. They certainly have enough choices at their disposal.
Let's assess three such candidates and reason out why they could be in line for the job.
#1 Shubman Gill
The most logical choice for GT to turn to as skipper if Pandya leaves is Shubman Gill. He is an Indian player who has established himself as one to stay for a long time to come and could potentially be the face of Indian cricket, and his appointment would add up in so many ways.
Gill doesn't really have much captaincy experience to fall back on, even though he was India's vice-captain at the U19 World Cup in 2018. In due course of time, however, the possibility of the opener assuming leadership roles at the international level cannot be ruled out.
Aged just 24, his best years are ahead of him. GT signed Pandya keeping the local connect in mind in Gujarat, and that's not quite the case with Gill. But he's a fan favorite already - a fact reiterated by the loud cheers he received when Rohit Sharma announced his entry into the playing XI during the India-Pakistan World Cup clash in Ahmedabad.
With a solid squad at the franchise's disposal, there couldn't be a better time to ease Gill into the job.
#2 Rashid Khan
If the existing leadership hierarchy at the Titans is followed, Rashid Khan should be the heir to the captaincy throne ahead of IPL 2024.
He has been the side's vice-captain since the team's inception in 2022 and stepped into the shoes of captaincy for a couple of games when Pandya was out with injury. Rashid has leadership experience to fall back on, having donned the role for Afghanistan and MI Cape Town in the SA20. The latter didn't quite end well, with a team of superstars finishing last.
It's not really wise to hand an overseas player the reins of captaincy due to the available slots in the side. But this is Rashid we're talking about. Leaving him out of the XI sounds next to unfathomable, given his value as an all-rounder as well as the fact that he is arguably the most valuable T20 cricketer on the planet.
Whether GT decide to have him succeed Pandya or not is a different matter that remains to be seen. But he ought to be a favorite for the post.
#3 Kane Williamson
Now this could be termed a left-field choice. But GT have sprung the odd surprise in the last two seasons, especially at the player auction. One of them was the signing of New Zealand's white-ball captain Kane Williamson at his base price. It didn't pan out as expected, though, as he was ruled out after the first game of the 2023 season with injury.
Are there better T20 batters than Williamson in the market, come the IPL 2024 auction? It's fair to say that there are, with all due respect to the stalwart that he is. But his prior leadership experience with the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) will weigh on the minds of the GT think-tank when they sit down to decide who Pandya's successor should be.
The number of Indian bowling options they have at their disposal means that there remains a spot for an overseas batter in their playing XI. Pandya, after all, played the role of a sheet anchor in this side and glued the batting lineup together.
Williamson may be looked at to do the same, even if he doesn't have a power game similiar to the Indian all-rounder. And that perhaps that puts him in the mix to take over the captaincy role too.
Who do you think should GT appoint as their captain for IPL 2024 if Hardik Pandya moves to MI? Have your say in the comments section below!
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