Former India opening batter Gautam Gambhir has picked Hardik Pandya and Prithvi Shaw as two possible captaincy candidates going into the future. Hardik's choice is understandable as he led Gujarat Titans to the IPL title in their inaugural season. However, Shaw is a surprise pick as he has not even played for the country since July 2021. On the other hand, Hardik is being as possible successor to Rohit Sharma in the shortest format of the game.
India lost the semi-final of the T20 World Cup against England and after that there have been calls for Hardik replacing Rohit atleast in the shortest format of the game.
"Hardik Pandya obviously is in line. But that's going to be unfortunate for Rohit because I think judging his captaincy in only one ICC event is not the right way to probably judge him," Gambhir said at an event organised by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
Further talking about Shaw, Gambhir said: "The reason I've picked Prithvi Shaw, I know a lot of people talk about his off-field activities, but that is what the job of the coach and the selectors are. The selectors' job isn't just to pick the 15, but also to get people walk the right path."
"Prithvi Shaw is one I feel can be a very aggressive captain, a very successful captain because you see that aggression in the way a person plays the sport," he added.
Off late, Shaw has been out-of-favour and he has even struggled to find a place in second-string Indian white-ball team. The right-handed batter has also been suspended for a doping violation in 2019 and ever since then, his fitness has been under scrutiny.