Navjot Singh Sidhu made a massive India captaincy call, calling Hardik Pandya’s ‘the future’ and also spoke about Rohit Sharma.
Currently participating in the ongoing Indian Premier League, Hardik Pandya is having a tough time as Mumbai Indians captain. The all-rounder rejoined MI in a shock transfer ahead of the auction last year. He was released by MI in 2022 and was purchased by Gujarat Titans, who immediately made him skipper. He led GT to the IPL title in their debut season, followed by a runners-up finish.
Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya for Team India.(AP)
But his return to MI hasn’t gone as planned. Mumbai are currently eighth in the IPL 2024 points table with only one win in four matches. Having replaced veteran Rohit Sharma as skipper, Hardik will be hoping to build some momentum in the upcoming fixtures. Hardik’s IPL captaincy is also important as he is seen as India’s future skipper which was further clarified by former player Navjot Singh Sidhu. Speaking to India Today, Sidhu called Pandya ‘the future’ of Indian cricket and called him a ‘natural choice.’
Unlock exclusive access to the story of India’s general elections, only on the HT App. Download Now!
Also Read | Shubman Gill’s mic-drop reply to broadcaster’s ‘thought you left it too late’ comment after GT’s sensational win vs RR
“Hardik Pandya is the future. Rohit is now around 36-37. He has a couple more years left. He is a superb captain and a wonderful player. If you ask me, he is poetry in motion. Whenever I see him, it looks like time stops. But, you have to actually look forward and prepare the ground for someone to take over,” he said.
“I am not advocating Hardik Pandya for Test match captaincy. But, he is your vice-captain. He has captained India in T20Is for close to a year when Rohit was not there. Hardik is your natural choice. That’s why BCCI has named him the team’s vice-captain. There’s a lot of planning, lot of consideration that goes in before BCCI takes a call.
“Hardik is a natural choice for white-ball captaincy,” he added.
Sidhu also gave his backing to pacer Jasprit Bumrah as captain for Test cricket. He felt that Bumrah’s performance has been sensational for India and he is an ‘unsung hero’. “If you look at the red-ball, BCCI has made a plan well in advance. Jasprit Bumrah, he is another unsung hero. We talk a lot about Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni… but Jasprit Bumrah has been handling expectations wonderfully well. Look at how he has returned from injury, he made the ball talk on his comeback,” he said.
“So he was the natural choice for vice-captain. You can have Jasprit Bumrah as Test match captain. It’s too early say. There are so many things when you decide about the captain. It’s about the team, it’s about the team. But Bumrah has captained in England, he deserves it,” he added.
MI face Royal Challengers Bangalore in their upcoming fixture, on Thursday. All eyes will once again be on Hardik, as he will look to make it back-to-back wins and get their campaign back on track.
