Board of Control for Cricket in India(BCCI) announced the T20I and ODI squads for the upcoming Sri Lanka tour of India, on Tuesday. The T20I squad doesn’t feature seniors Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli while all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been named the captain. While Rohit is battling an injury and might not have become fit in time for the T20Is, it’s unclear whether Kohli has been rested or dropped. However, both Rohit and Kohli form part of the ODI squad whereas Hardik has been assigned the role of vice-captain.

With the latest squad announcement, the apex body for cricket in India is sending out a message loud and clear that they are now looking for the best players and leaders for the upcoming 50-over World Cup to be played in India in 2023. KL Rahul’s wretched form has inarguably pushed him out of the leadership role and Pandya’s promotion might be signals of a permanent role. Speaking on Cricbuzz, India cricketer Dinesh Karthik has opined on the matter and said that Rohit and Hardik will surely be the captain and vice-captain respectively for the World Cup.

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“For the moment, it looks like even though there are a lot of other leaders who have captained India in the recent 12 months because of the amount of cricket played with the likes of Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant. All these players donning the captain’s hat for a bit. Jasprit Bumrah as well. But for the moment, it will be a toss up between Rohit and Hardik Pandya or rather Rohit and Hardik Pandya will be the captain and vice-captain leading into the World Cup for sure,” said Karthik.

“I think leadership definitely, for me, is a close call. And I think it will be between Rohit and Hardik. These two are the big names,” he added.

The wicketkeeper-batter also talked about Rahul and his fate as a leader while Pandya has risen to the occasion in a big way.

“I know KL Rahul has been the white-ball vice-captain, but I do think Hardik Pandya has thrown his name strongly in the mix and it will be captain vice-captain role between a Hardik and a Rohit in the coming 12 months because I think he has shown his skills in the IPL as a leader and that might be coming through soon for team India as well,” concluded Karthik.

Team India are yet to win an ICC Trophy since winning the Champions Trophy in 2013 under captain MS Dhoni.