- Wednesday, March 12, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
With KL Rahul’s fitness issues continuing, all-rounder Hardik Pandya could see himself getting elevated to the post of the vice captain in India T20 international team permanently.
According to a report by InsideSport, Pandya, 28, will be named as the India vice captain when the Indian cricket board announces the squad for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year.
“Hardik is a world-class player and it’s great to have him back in the team at full fitness. Whether he will be named vice-captain is up to the selectors. But he is already a leader in the group. As an all-rounder, he understands both situations. He has outstanding leadership skills and we saw that in the IPL. He will surely do well,” a senior official of the Board of Control for Cricket in India was quoted as saying by InsideSport.
Pandya, who has also seen frequent phases of injuries in the past, has seen a rapid rise in the leadership role this year. After guiding the Gujarat Titans to the Indian Premier League title win, he was named as the India vice captain for a T20 series against South Africa at home with wicket-keeper-batter Rishabh Pant as the captain.
Later, he led India for an away two-T20 series against Ireland which his team won 2-0. He is also playing as deputy to captain Rohit Sharma in the ongoing T20 series against the West Indies.
It is to be seen who the selectors settle for when they pick the India squad for the high-voltage Asia Cup tournament starting later this month. Rahul is also set to make a comeback for the tournament which also features Pakistan. The Indian squad for the T20 World Cup will be picked in September.
However, Rahul will continue to be India’s vice captain in Tests and one-day internationals.
Pandya has played 66 T20 internationals for India in which he has made 806 runs with a strike rate of 143 plus and picked 50 wickets at an average of 27.42.
He has also been part of 202 T20 matches in which he has scored more than 3,500 runs and taken 126 wickets.
