Hardik "Natural Choice": Sidhu's Bold India Verdict Amid MI Captaincy Row

Former India opening batter Navjot Singh Sidhu has backed star all-rounder Hardik Pandya to replace Rohit Sharma as full-time captain of the national team whenever the latter decides to step down. Hardik, who has already led India on a few occasions, is currently leading the Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2024, having replaced Rohit as captain ahead of the auction. Sidhu feels Hardik is the future of the Indian team and added that the BCCI is doing the right thing by grooming him as captain.

"Hardik Pandya is the future. Rohit is now around 36-37. He has a couple more years left. He is a superb captain and a wonderful player. If you ask me, he is poetry in motion. Whenever I see him, it looks like time stops. But, you have to actually look forward and prepare the ground for someone to take over," Sidhu told India Today.

"I am not advocating Hardik Pandya for Test match captaincy. But, he is your vice-captain. He has captained India in T20Is for close to a year when Rohit was not there. Hardik is your natural choice. That's why BCCI has named him the team's vice-captain. There's a lot of planning, lot of consideration that goes in before BCCI takes a call. Hardik is a natural choice for white-ball captaincy," he added.

However, Sidhu backed Jasprit Bumrah to take over the captaincy reigns from Rohit in Test cricket, and added that the star pacer "deserves" a shot at it.

"If you look at the red-ball, BCCI has made a plan well in advance. Jasprit Bumrah, he is another unsung hero. We talk a lot about Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni... but Jasprit Bumrah has been handling expectations wonderfully well. Look at how he has returned from injury, he made the ball talk on his comeback," Sidhu explained.

"So he was the natural choice for vice-captain. You can have Jasprit Bumrah as Test match captain. It's too early say. There are so many things when you decide about the captain. It's about the team, it's about the team. But Bumrah has captained in England, he deserves it," he concluded.

Meanwhile, Hardik's MI will take on the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in IPL 2024 on Thursday.