Hardik Pandya might replace Rohit Sharma as captain for India's 2025 Champions Trophy campaign

Rohit Sharma's start to 2025 followed a rough end to 2024, continuing a bad period. Right as the new year began, people kept discussing whether Rohit should still play Test cricket, especially after India didn't win in the Melbourne Test. On Thursday, that day, Rohit chose to not play in the final match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia in Sydney, mainly because he has been having a hard time with batting lately.

Rohit hasn't made his plans for test cricket clear yet, so there's much more wondering about what he'll do. This has given the BCCI's selection committee a chance to think about who else could lead in the ICC Champions Trophy that's coming up.

After winning the T20 World Cup with India, Rohit stopped playing T20I cricket in June, and now Suryakumar Yadav is taking over as captain. In the longer format of cricket, like tests, Jasprit Bumrah is in the running to be captain because he once led India to a wonderful victory in Perth.

The report from My Khel mentioned that the BCCI might be considering who could lead ODI cricket in the future. It noted how if there's any uncertainty about Rohit staying as the ODI captain or if the people choosing the team want to make things easier for him since he's 37, Hardik Pandya could take over. Hardik has been in charge of India's team in several white-ball games for the last two years, so he's learning a lot about leading.

A person who understands the situation said, Hardik is very good when things get tough. Because he can do a lot of things well and knows how to lead, he's a solid pick for major competitions such as the Champions Trophy.

What makes Hardik Pandya the leading candidate to replace Rohit Sharma?

Normally, India doesn't go for having different captains for different game formats. Because Suryakumar Yadav is the T20I captain and he's still trying to obtain a spot on the ODI team, it doesn't look like he's going to receive the captain spot for the 50 over games. Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill are also being considered to take over Rohit's position as captain.

The report made it clear: If Rohit can't be the captain, Hardik Pandya is the best pick for the ODI captaincy. The reason? Compared to Gill who still has to become more of a leader and Suryakumar, whose ODI game has not made anyone feel amazed, Hardik adds much value with both his skills and experience in leading. The source mentioned that Gill needs more time to shape up as a leader, whereas Hardik is a well-rounded choice to captain India in ODIs.

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