BCCI secretary Jay Shah discussed the possibility of Hardik Pandya becoming the permanent captain of the Indian team, replacing Rohit Sharma. Following India’s T20 World Cup victory, Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from T20I cricket on Saturday. Prior to this, Hardik Pandya had only captained the Indian team when Rohit was unavailable.

Now that Rohit Sharma is no longer part of the T20I team, the BCCI faces the task of selecting a new full-time captain for their T20I squad. Hardik Pandya is reportedly being considered to take over from Rohit, but BCCI Secretary Jay Shah has stated that Rohit’s replacement will be announced only after meeting with the selectors.

“The captain will be announced, after consulting with the selectors. Regarding Hardik, there were concerns about his form, but we and the selectors maintained our faith in him, and he ultimately validated that trust,” quoted Shah.

Following their T20 World Cup triumph, India will embark on a 5-match T20I series against Zimbabwe, commencing on July 6 at the Harare Sports Club. In the absence of several key players, Shubman Gill has been entrusted with the captaincy duties for this bilateral tour. Gill, along with Rinku Singh, Avesh Khan, and Khaleel Ahmed, were India’s travelling reserves during the World Cup campaign.

Following their tour of Zimbabwe, the Men in Blue will travel to Sri Lanka later this month to play a 3-match T20I series. The captain for this upcoming Sri Lanka tour, however, has not been declared yet.

Hardik Pandya has captained the Men in Blue on numerous occasions, leading them to victory in 10 out of 16 T20I matches. He has also served as captain for 3 ODI matches. In 2022, Hardik’s captaincy of the Gujarat Titans was a resounding success, guiding the team to their first-ever IPL championship.