Just like ‘Dhoni Gave It To Virat Kohli’ – Ajay Jadeja Feels Rohit Should Give T20I Captaincy To Hardik

The debate on whether the current India Captain Rohit Sharma should pass on the leadership roles to Hardik Pandya , especially in the shortest format had begun much earlier.

However, India’s historical series win over Sri Lanka under the leadership of stand in skipper Hardik has fumed the debate much more.

On that note, former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja has said that Rohit Sharma should handover India’s T20Is captaincy to Hardik Pandya.

Ever since the screeching halt India endured in the T20 World Cup 2022, many questions have been raised to have new captain to lead the side in T20Is. Ajay Jadeja cited former skipper MS Dhoni’s example of how he handed the role to Virat Kohli and added that Rohit should do the same by giving the leadership duties to Hardik.

“At the moment we’ve still got Rohit Sharma, who has been leading and his records show that he is the best captain. There is never a king waiting, all kings had to grab their place. Because waiting means it’s the right of a king who he gives it to. Like Mahendra Singh Dhoni gave it to Virat Kohli, it wasn’t the board or selectors. [It was] Mahendra Singh Dhoni who picked Virat Kohli and said I think you should take it on from here. I feel that’s how it should be,” said Jadeja in conversation with a media house.

Ajay Jadeja then went all praise for Pandya

Jadeja further lauded the star all-rounder by saying that the decisions he made during the series worked fine for the side.

“He (Pandya) used Umran well, he’s done all the right things. The only thing, when I see him again I’ll say just because a week ago you were not captain and a week later you are doesn’t mean you don’t have to run as fast as you were running or fielding. Or being as athletic as you were, you as a player should not go down. And just don’t worry about the team alone, because you as a champion player is more important than leading,” said Jadeja.

After returning from a back injury, all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been performing brilliantly for the Men in Blue. Under his leadership, Gujarat Titans won the IPL trophy. In the absence of senior players, Pandya led the Indian team in Ireland and New Zealand and helped India win the series on both occasions. Last week India outplayed Sri Lanka in the three-match T20I series under Pandya’s captaincy.

Rohit vs Hardik Captaincy stats in T20Is

The Indian team has, over time, seen various players lead their team in the shorter format, but only three of them have led the blue shirts in more than ten t20s. One of them is Rohit Sharma, who has alternatively led the side when Kohli was the captain. He was made the permanent captain of the Indian side when Kohli was axed after a poor 2021 T20 world cup.

The current opener of the Indian team, Sharma has been an intelligent leader for the blue shirts and is also their most successful captain. Although he has seen some recent backlash on his batting as well as his captaincy, this doesn’t overshadow the fact he has an excellent record when leading the side.

When Hardik Pandya took the helm as captain for the first time in a match against Ireland in 2022, he could put up an outstanding performance, and everyone agreed that Ireland was a simple side to beat. But he consistently performed with this intent and even beat the opposition New Zealand on their home ground which was incredible. Moreover, the most recent series Sri Lanka speaks for itself.

How has his captaincy been so far:

Moreover, Hardik Pandya’s captaincy win percentage in t20I is 80, which shows how excellent start he has with his captaincy role, which will boost his upcoming performances.

While this isn’t a comparison of the two captaincy contenders and we don’t wish to state whether one is better from other. We only wish to provide our readers with statistical data.

Also read: How can upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy decide the Finalists of WTC 23?

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