Suresh Raina Names Hardik Pandya As Rohit Sharma's Successor, Snubs Shubman Gill: 'Glimpse Of MS Dhoni In Him'

Ahead of the 2026 World Cup, Team India's ODI captaincy has been a burning question. Rohit Sharma will enter the 40-year-old age bracket, and questions have been raised over his leadership, as per some reports.

Suresh Raina Picked Up Hardik Pandya As Future ODI Captain

Shubman Gill has long been touted as Rohit Sharma's successor in limited-overs cricket. The 25-year-old replaced Rohit as the test captain after the former announced his retirement from the red-ball format. Gill led the Indian team to a thrilling 2-2 draw against England in the five-match Test series and has also been named Suryakumar Yadav's deputy in the upcoming Asia Cup, which will be held in the shortest format.

Suresh Raina has preferred Hardik Pandya over Gill in the white ball captaincy debate. On Shubankar Mishra’s YouTube channel, he said, “Shubman Gill any day, the way they decide but I think Hardik Pandya will do a lot of miracles in white-ball cricket as a captain. Even Shubman Gill can be that guy. Hopefully, he [Hardik] should become captain again. He has experience like Kapil Paji whether it’s batting, bowling or fielding."

He has compared Pandya's leadership skills with MS Dhoni.  “And he’s a very very positive guy. The way he has performed, he is a captain for the players. I see him as a glimpse of MS Dhoni in him, the way he interact and conduct on the ground, the energy, I like the most."

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Hardik Pandya Was In Contention To Become India's T20I Captain

Hardik's injury issues have been a big barrier in his career. The Mumbai Indian captain has been named in the Asia Cup squad and will play a pivotal role for the Men In Blue. Pandya was in contention to succeed Rohit after the 38 year old quit from T20I cricket after India lifted the T20 World Cup last year. But the selectors opted for Suryakumar, citing Hardik's recurring fitness problems.

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