T20 World Cup 2022: 3 Players who can lead India in T20Is if Rohit Sharma steps down

2. Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya is one of the best all-rounders in white-ball cricket and has proven his mettle in the international arena time and time again. Talking about the T20Is, he has smashed 1117 runs in 79 matches at a strike rate of 146.39 and bagged 62 scalps at an economy of 8.31.

Hardik was handed over the leadership reins of the newly-christened Gujarat Titans for the 15th edition of the IPL. It raised a lot of eyebrows as Hardik has not captained any side at a higher level earlier, but what followed was simply remarkable. The 29-year-old was seen handling his troops quite well on the field and led his team from the front. He promoted himself higher up the order and smashed 487 runs in 15 games. Also, he stepped in as the sixth bowling option and took eight wickets for the side.

Under Hardik’s captaincy, GT went on to script history by winning the IPL title in their debut season. Impressed by the leadership skills of the veteran all-rounder, the Indian team management handed him the opportunity to lead the Men in Blue against Ireland, when senior players such as Rohit, Rahul, and Virat Kohli were absent.  Hardik seems to have thrived in the leadership role and India could see in him their next T20I captain.