Not Shubman Gill: Suresh Raina Wants MI Player To Lead India In ODIs After Rohit

Everybody has an opinion when it comes to replacing Rohit Sharma as ODI captain. India have already replaced him in Tests with Shubman Gill and in T20Is with Suryakumar Yadav. Many feel one of the two should don the hat when it comes to the 50-over format.

However, according to former India batter Suresh Raina, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) should rather think about appointing Hardik Pandya as the next ODI captain. 

“I think Hardik Pandya will do a lot of miracles in white-ball cricket as a captain. Even Shubman Gill can be that guy. Hopefully, he [Hardik] should become captain again. He has experience like Kapil Paji, whether it’s batting, bowling or fielding,” Indian Express quoted Raina as saying on Shubhankar Mishra’s YouTube channel.

Adding that Hardik reminded him of MS Dhoni as well, Raina, who played with Dhoni in the IPL and Indian team for a long time, said, “And he’s a very, very positive guy. The way he has performed, he is a captain for the players. I see a glimpse of MS Dhoni in him, the way he interacts and conducts on the ground, the energy I like the most.”

Hardik was not the board’s first choice as captain after Rohit’s T20I retirement, even as he was captaining the Mumbai Indians and had previously led the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL).