India is gearing up for their upcoming three-match T20I series versus New Zealand, starting on November 18. In the absence of regular captain Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya is set to captain India in the T20I series. While Rohit will return for the Bangladesh tour, former India head coach Ravi Shastri feels Hitman can continue to lead in Tests and ODIs whereas the national side can have a separate T20I captain given the amount of cricket being played in a calendar year.
During a select media call organised by Prime Video, Shastri opined, "For T20 cricket, there is no harm in having a new captain. Because the volume of cricket is such that for one player, to play all three formats of the game is never going to be easy. If Rohit is already leading in Tests and ODIs, there is no harm in identifying a new T20I captain and if his name is Hardik Pandya, so be it."
The ex-India coach also questioned head coach Rahul Dravid for his constant breaks. In a presser ahead of the T20I series between India and the Black Caps, he said, "I do not believe is breaks. Because I want to understand my team, I want to understand my players and I want to then, be in control of that team. These breaks... what do you need that many breaks for to be honest? You get your 2-3 months of the IPL, that's enough for you to rest as a coach. But other times, I think a coach should be hands on, whoever he is."
In Dravid's absence, VVS Laxman is donning the head coach's hat for India's tour of NZ, featuring three T20Is and ODIs each. Here's India's squad for the NZ tour:
Squad for NZ T20Is: Hardik Pandya (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & wk), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson (wk), W Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik.
Squad for NZ ODIs: Shikhar Dhawan (C), Rishabh Pant (VC & wk), Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson (wk), W Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Sen, Umran Malik.