Not Shubman Gill Or Jasprit Bumrah! Kapil Dev Wants 31-Year-Old Star As India’s Next White-Ball Captain

Last Updated:April 06, 2025, 17:33 IST

Gill served as Rohit Sharma’s deputy in the Champions Trophy 2025, whereas Bumrah has led the Indian men’s cricket team in three Tests when Rohit was not available.

Kapil Dev wants 31-year-old star as next white-ball captain of Team India. (Picture Credit: X/@BCCI and X/@ICC)

Legendary Indian all-rounder and former captain Kapil Dev has ignored the likes of Shubman Gill and Jasprit Bumrah to pick star all-rounder Hardik Pandya as the next captain of Indian white-ball teams. Pandya has served as India’s captain in T20Is and ODIs in the past but has not been preferred for the leadership roles since Gautam Gambhir’s appointment as head coach of the Indian team in July 2024. After Rohit announced his retirement from T20Is following India’s win in the T20 World Cup 2024 final, Suryakumar Yadav was appointed as India’s T20I captain instead of Pandya, and so far the 34-year-old cricketer from Mumbai has done a decent job.

But in the future, Kapil wants to see Hardik as the captain of India’s T20I and ODI teams.

“To me, Hardik Pandya is my white-ball captain. There are many contenders for the post, but Pandya is my choice,” Kapil told MyKhel.

According to the captain of the 1983 ODI World Cup-winning Indian team, Hardik is young, and the Indian team can be built around him for the upcoming ICC events.

“Pandya is relatively young and can build a team around him for the next ICC events,” Kapil added.

Hardik, who is one of the three Indian cricketers to play more than 100 T20Is, last played a Test match in September 2018, and Kapil wants him to play the five-day format of the game as well.

“Ideally, Hardik should also play Test cricket, and since he isn’t playing, India will need multiple captains for three formats,” he said.

Hardik’s record as India captain

Hardik made his captaincy debut for India against Ireland in June 2022. He was appointed as India’s captain for the two-match away series after leading Gujarat Titans to IPL 2022 title win. So far, Hardik has led India in 16 T20Is and three ODIs and won 10 and two matches, respectively. He was Rohit’s deputy in the T20 World Cup 2024 as well as the ODI World Cup 2023.

In the IPL, Hardik has led the Mumbai Indians in 17 matches so far but has only managed to win five matches. Under his leadership MI finished last in IPL 2024.