“There is a lot of time for 2026”: Hardik Pandya on being potential T20 captain successor to Rohit Sharma

The two greats of Indian cricket, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli called time on their T20I careers with India’s T20 World Cup triumph on Saturday. It was an emotional moment for both the players as the two played crucial roles for the national team in the format of the game for quite a long time. Virat led the team in T20Is before stepping down from the role in 2021. Rohit then took over the duties and fared well for India in the post.

After India’s defeat to England in 2022 World Cup semi-final, both Rohit and Virat missed T20I cricket the next year and it was Hardik Pandya, who led the team during that time. Later, Rohit and Virat returned to the format with the former becoming the captain again.

It was a dream end to the T20I careers of Rohit and Virat on Saturday as they helped India clinch the title, with the former being the skipper of the team.

The duo’s retirement from the format has left a huge void in the T20I team of India now. But now the management needs to decide the player who will lead the Indian side in the T20I format. Hardik is a front-runner for this role as he has fared well as captain in the shortest format, be it the Indian Premier League or international cricket.

However, when asked about his role in the upcoming years as there is another T20 World Cup set to take place in 2026, Hardik decided not to comment much on it.

“There is a lot of time for 2026. I am very happy for both Rohit and Virat…two giants and legends of Indian cricket, who thoroughly deserved this. It has been so amazing playing with them for so many years. We all will miss them but at the same point, this is the best farewell we can give them,” Hardik told the reporters.

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