Former Indian superstar and CSK legend Suresh Raina heaped praises on the Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Raina has also thrown his weight behind Pandya to take over as the next India ODI captain after Rohit Sharma over the likes of Shubman Gill.
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Rohit is currently leading India in the ODI format, while Gill is India's Test team captain but is also being looked at as a long-term leadership option for all three formats.
Suresh Raina backs Hardik Pandya as India's next white-ball captain
Pandya has previously led India in the white-ball formats and is the current Mumbai Indians (MI) captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL). After leading the Gujarat Titans to the championship title in the franchise's inaugural season in 2022, Pandya stood out for his impressive leadership coupled with his already established all-round skills.
"I still feel in white-ball, Hardik Pandya will do a lot of miracles as a captain," Raina stated in a podcast with Subhankar Mishra. "Gill can also be, but Hardik should become the captain."
Pandya has captained India in a total of 16 T20Is and 3 ODIs. The Indian all-rounder, in fact, enjoys a superb success rate, winning 10 out of the 16 T20Is and 2 out of the 3 ODIs with a winning percentage of 62.5% and 66.6% respectively.
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Reasons for picking Hardik Pandya as next India captain according to Suresh Raina
He was also being looked at as India's next white-ball captain a couple of years back and was in line to take over as India's T20I skipper post Rohit's retirement. However, the management handed over the reign to Suryakumar Yadav in a surprising turn of events, as Pandya's fitness was stated as a concern.
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"He (Hardik) has experience like Kapil Paaji (Kapil Dev), batting, bowling, and fielding, and he is a very, very positive guy. He's a player's captain; he gives glimpses of Mahi bhai...The way he conducts energy on the ground, I really like that," added Raina.
As the skipper, Pandya has displayed a calm and composed presence on the field, much like Dhoni. The two are also very close friends off the field and have often been seen sharing special moments.
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In fact, MS Dhoni's CSK was the side that stopped Pandya from winning consecutive IPL titles. However, in the post-match interview, the all-rounder mentioned that 'if he had to lose, he wouldn't mind losing to MS Dhoni,' which is a testimony to the bond and mutual respect that the duo shares
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