One wouldn’t have imagined that Indian cricket would have seven captains in as many months, but injuries and workload management have made it possible. The unexpectedness of the post-coronavirus era adds fuel to the fire. Seasoned opener Shikhar Dhawan will captain India in three one-day internationals in the West Indies later this month. He is set to become the eighth captain in the last 10 months, joining a panel of KL Rahul, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik and Jasprit Bumrah.
Moving forward, the musical chairs around the management may also lead to a new face appearing on the captain’s hat. Bumrah was tipped to be India’s future captain, but Pant also raised his hand when he led the national team in the recent Twenty20 series against South Africa. Former India player Saba Karim has backed the left-arm dasher for the role, saying he will develop into a big name in the future. But the former India coach said that every player should focus on his performance instead of thinking about the captain’s armband.
“Pant is a special player and has the ability to win matches. I believe he can prove to be a big player for India in all three formats. If we look at his performances overseas, yes, we can say that he is a possible candidate for But I think every player should focus on delivering match-winning performances and not on winning the captain’s hat,” said Karim.Pant, who does not shy away from taking risks, perished or nothing when he sliced Brydon Cars in half in the second ODI against England. He hit a counter-attacking century in the Edgbaston Test and showed his no-holds-barred batting approach. But the 24-year-old has scored 26, 1 and 0 in England’s three limited-overs matches so far.
The swashbuckler has been under the radar due to his hasty shot selection and careless approach, but many, including former England captain Michael Vaughan, believe he should be his usual aggressive self. Vaughan said Pant’s job would be to cause “chaos” and play with enough freedom. “I would say to Rishabh Pant, don’t be ultra-aggressive. He is allowed to be aggressive in white-ball cricket, but in red-ball cricket it just looks like a sloppy approach,” Vaughan said. And in white-ball cricket, it almost seems to be overdoing it. He is one player in this space who can win India a game in the space of 15 overs of batting. He’s such a good player, you just want him to have that freedom. Don’t worry about the shots he plays even if he gets out. I think his job in this Indian team is to go into chaos.”
