Kapil Dev the great former captain who led India to World Cup glory in 1983 has also been vocally backing Hardik Pandya as the next Indian captain in both ODIs and T20Is. With Rohit Sharma retiring from T20Is and the end of his career also drawing near the issue of who the next leader will be has become highly relevant. Although Suryakumar Yadav has taken over as the T20I captain Pandya remains an effective contender for both formats.

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Kapil Dev speaking during a PGTI pro-am tournament, stated that he believes Pandya is the top choice for the white-ball captaincy. He added that Pandya has showed leadership skills in spite of having some mixed reactions towards his captaincy in the IPL. He took Gujarat Titans to the IPL championship in 2022 and had another good year in 2023, which is evidence enough of his abilities. Kapil feels that Pandya is young enough to guide India in future ICC events and establish a strong team for the future.

The Need for Split Captaincy

Kapil Dev also pointed out a major aspect about Pandya's participation in Test cricket. Though Pandya is a vital cog in India's white-ball set-up, he has not played Test cricket for more than six years and is not even taking part in domestic red-ball competitions. This, in Kapil's view, implies that India might have to follow a split-captaincy approach with different captains for ODIs, T20Is, and Tests.

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Pandya's captaincy journey has also been full of highs and lows, with an uneven season as Mumbai Indians captain in 2024, which saw them take last place in the table. Yet, his shining performance with India's win in the 2024 T20 World Cup has revived the hope of captaincy for Pandya. Kapil's blessing for Pandya can now hold a key in deciding the leadership future of Indian cricket.