"Don't Know Who Is Seeing Hardik Pandya As Captain": Former Pakistan Cricketer
Former Pakistan cricketer Salman Butt isn't in agreement with the idea of Hardik Pandya replacing Rohit Sharma as India's skipper in T20Is.
The Indian cricket team kicks off the post-T20 World Cup 2022 era with Hardik Pandya as the captain on the tour of New Zealand. Though Rohit Sharma is still the designated skipper across all three formats, he has been given a break from the series, with Hardik taking up the role for the tour. There are a number of former cricketers and pundits who have backed Hardik to succeed Rohit as India's skipper in the shortest format. Former Pakistan cricketer, Salman Butt, however, isn't convinced with what he has seen from the India all-rounder, as far as leadership qualities go.
In a video on his YouTube channel, Butt was asked about Hardik's prospects as India's skipper in the near future. The retired Pakistani cricketer, however, doesn't think Rohit Sharma should be removed as India's captain just because he couldn't win the 2022 T20 World Cup.
"I don't know who is seeing him as captain and who is watching such dreams. He has talent and has tasted success in the IPL. But even Rohit Sharma has been successful five to six times in the IPL. If he had scored well in a couple of matches (in the T20 World Cup 2022), people wouldn't have been talking about making this change at the top," he said.
"In the Asian subcontinent, people start talking about such drastic and big changes rather soon. Not all of them, but quite a few, who probably don't understand how these things work. Sometimes, just for the sake of giving an opinion, people say, 'change the captain'," he added.
Butt further opined that only one captain can win the World Cup, consisting of 12 teams. That doesn't mean the remaining 11 captains should be changed.
"Only one captain has won the World Cup, the rest of the teams have lost. Will you change the captains of all 11 teams because they lost the World Cup?", he asserted.
Hardik was to lead the Indian team in the first T20I against New Zealand on Friday in Wellington. But, persistent rain at the venue saw the match getting abandoned without a ball being bowled.
India Cricket Team
Hardik Pandya