The India Cricket Team is faced with a big problem. Who will lead the Men in Blue for the upcoming IND vs AFG T20I series. Hardik Pandya is injured and so is Suryakumar Yadav. With Rohit Sharma not interested to lead the side in the shortest format of the game, Team India faces a big crisis in finding who will lead the side for the upcoming series.
Though it might be the series against Afghanistan, but the series is extremely important for the Men in Blue. These 3 matches will be the only T20I matches that India will play before the T20 World Cup. Though the teams will get a chance to sharpen their skills in IPL 2024, but when it comes to International matches, there is a lack of leaders in the side.
Following the T20 World Cup 2022, Rohit Sharma hasn’t featured for the Men in Blue in the shortest format of the game. Hardik Pandya served as the skipper where he has been leading a young brigade. When Pandya got injured, it was Suryakumar Yadav who next in line as he lead the side in IND vs AUS and IND vs SA T20I series.
Plethora of Injuries
But Suryakuamr Yadav twisted his ankle in the IND vs SA 3rd T20I and has now suffered a Grade II tear on his ligament. The World Number 1 batter will take 7 weeks to recover and is likely to be fit by February, meaning he won’t be available for the IND vs AFG series.
Hardik Pandya too is injured and there is no fixed return date for the star. On the other hand, in all likelihood Rohit Sharma too will not play in the IND vs AFG series. With IND vs ENG Test series down the line, the team won’t take the chance should Rohit also gets injured. Furthermore, Rohit is also not interested to lead the side in the shortest format of the game.
In such a case there are only 2 suitable candidates to captain the side. Ravindra Jadeja who captained the side in the rest of the match during SKY’s absence. But then again, Jadeja too has a poor captaincy record as was evident when he was the skipper of CSK. KL Rahul is another choice for captaincy, but it remains to be seen if the LSG skipper gets his chance or he might too be rested for the T20I series.