"I will be more than happy if he is made permanent captain of the India T20 side" - Rashid Khan on Hardik Pandya

Afghanistan leg-spinner Rashid Khan has backed Hardik Pandya as a candidate to be Team India's full-time T20I captain.

The Indian team management is leaning towards the prospect of a split captaincy considering Rohit Sharma's workload management and rigorous cricketing schedule.

Rashid has fond memories of playing under Hardik's captaincy. He was part of the Gujarat Titans (GT) squad that lifted the Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy under the all-rounder's leadership in their maiden season earlier this year.

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Opining that Hardik is a perfectly viable option to take over from Rohit as Team India's T20I captain, Rashid told IANS:

“Pandya is a fantastic player. I think he deserves to be captain of the national side. I have played under him. I will be more than happy if he is made permanent captain of the India T20 side. It is difficult to manage players and he understands it so well and did his job brilliantly in the IPL."

Rashid continued:

“I will be more than happy if he gets that chance. And I wish him all the best for that, also I am waiting to be part of Gujarat Titans again next year and play under him."

The leg-spinner had a prolific season playing under Hardik for GT. He claimed 19 wickets across the campaign, his third-most successful IPL season since his debut in the 2017 edition.

"If people are saying, you feel good about it" - Hardik Pandya on permanent captaincy

Hardik has had credible results under his belt on the sporadic occasions he has led the national team. He captained India for the first time during the tour of Ireland in July 2022.

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During the recently concluded series against New Zealand, where he guided Team India to a 1-0 win, he addressed the prospect of leading the team on a permanent basis in the shortest format.

Following positive feedback from former Indian players Ravi Shastri and Sunil Gavaskar, the ace all-rounder said:

"If people are saying, you feel good about it) but till something happens officially, you can't say. To be honest, my thing is simple, if I do one match or one series, I will lead the team my way, how I see and perceive the game.

"Whenever I am given the opportunity, I will always go out and play the brand of cricket I know. As a unit, we will display my brand. As far as whatever (captaincy) comes in future, we will see."

Team India's next T20 endeavor comes on home soil in the form of a white-ball series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka in early 2023.

Will the all-rounder be appointed as Team India's T20 captain in the near future? Let us know what you think.

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