‘World Cup se pehle hi captain banado’ – Fans react as Ravi Shastri opines on who should be India’s next captain in limited overs

Former Indian cricketer Ravi Shastri believes that the all-rounder Hardik Pandya should take over India’s captaincy in the limited-overs format after the One-Day World Cup 2023. Pandya has already led the Indian T20 side for a while after India’s semi-final exit from the 20-20 World Cup in Australia. He also had a great outing as the skipper of Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL as he led the franchise to a title in their debut season in 2022, and ended up as runners-up in IPL 2023.

However, Shastri also suggested that Pandya should not play Test cricket in the future as his body would not be able to cope in the longest format. Notably, Pandya has played 11 Test matches for India so far where he has scored a century with the bat and also taken a five-wicket haul with the ball. Shastri believes that Pandya should take over the captaincy in white ball format if he remains fit.

“After the World Cup, if his body is fit enough, he should take over captaincy in white-ball cricket. His body cannot cope with Test cricket. Let’s be very clear about that. There are seniors ready to be phased out and there are youngsters ready. No question about it when it comes to T20 cricket. Lesser in 50-over cricket and even fewer in Tests,” Shastri told the Week.

One should not get carried away and think they should be automatic red-ball choice: Shastri

Speaking further, Shastri also gave a stern warning to the young cricketers who are good in white ball cricket. The former cricketer advised that being good in a limited-overs format doesn’t guarantee you a place in the red-ball format. He said that he would see a red-ball record of the player before selecting him for the Test squad.

“Because of the IPL, you see an abundance of high-quality, young, white-ball players. But, one should not get carried away by that and think they should be automatic red-ball choices,” Shastri said.

“I would rather see the red-ball record. I would sit with the selectors and find out more about who the [red-ball performances] were against, in what conditions, what are their strengths, what is the temperament of the bloke like,” he added.