Ahead of the England tour, former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri said that there is no harm in identifying a new T20I captain, and if his name is Hardik Pandya, then so be it.
Ravi Shastri Backs Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya would lead the side in the T20Is while Shikhar Dhawan would captain in the ODIs. Hardik Pandya-led Indian T20I team will lock horns with Kane Williamson-led New Zealand to play 3 T20Is with the first match on November 18 at Sky Stadium, Wellington.
The last match of the T20I series will be played on November 22 at McLean Park, Napier.
“For T20 cricket, there is no harm in having a new captain. Because the volume of cricket is such that for one player, to play all three formats of the game is never going to be easy.
If Rohit is already leading in Tests and ODIs, there is no harm in identifying a new T20I captain and if his name is Hardik Pandya, so be it,” said Shastri during a select media call organised by Prime Video.
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Umran Malik has been named in the squads for the white-ball series against New Zealand, and both Zaheer Khan and Ravi Shastri believe that this experience will hold him in good stead.
“The variety in your pace attack is a must and you have seen teams following that kind of pattern. You need a left-arm bowler, you need someone who can swing the ball, you need someone who is an out-and-out fast bowler.
If everything is in one package, then even better but if not, you would like to use the variety in your attack in the bowling lineup and use different conditions well.
Umran has been a very exciting talent and this kind of exposure is definitely going to help him, it is about how he takes things forward if he wants to grab the spot consistently,” said Zaheer while replying to a media question.
Answering the same question, Shastri said: “He is one of the fastest bowlers in India and you saw what happened in the World Cup where genuine pace rattled opposition, whether it was Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah, and Anrich Nortje.
So, there is no substitute for genuine pace. Even if you are defending small totals so this is an opportunity for Umran, hopefully, he will learn from this exposure.”
Earlier in the day, VVS Laxman, head coach for the series against New Zealand, spoke about how there would be more T20 specialists playing for India in the shortest format.
Shastri, who has been a head coach of India, also echoed the same sentiment, saying: “I think that is the way forward, I think VVS is right. They will identify specialists. Going forward, that should be the mantra.
Identify and make that Indian side into a terrific fielding side and identify roles for these youngsters who can be fearless and play that kind of cricket without any kind of baggage.”
India and New Zealand have played 20 T20Is so far where India won 11 matches while New Zealand won 09 matches.
