Former India head coach and player, Ravi Shastri is of the view that there is no problem in appointing separate captain skippers for the two white-ball formats and mentioned Hardik Pandya's name as the right man to do the job. Hardik will captain Team India against New Zealand in the 3-match T20 series, starting November 18.
"For T20 cricket, there is no harm in having a new captain. Because the volume of cricket is such, 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," Shastri told reporters ahead of the first T20I.
Shastri further added that the mantra going forward should be to make the team a great fielding side and allow them to play fearless cricket. "That's the way forward, VVS is right. They'll identify specialists, especially among youngsters. That should be the mantra, two years from now identify and make that team into a terrific fielding side and identify roles for these youngsters who could be fearless and play that kind of cricket without any baggage."
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Shastri went on to say that the team pretty much needs to follow the England template going forward.
"There's an opportunity with this team in the future to identify roles for players, identify match-winners, and go pretty much on the template of England. They are one team that caught the bull by the horns after the 2015 World Cup. They sat down and said they are going to identify the best players for that format of the game - whether it's T20 or 50-over cricket. This meant that if they are some senior players, and have to sit out, so be it. And they got in youngsters who were fearless and could adapt to that pattern of the game."
He finished by saying that India have ample time and resources to identify and groom a young team. "It's a template that can be followed easily, India has got a wealth of resources and it can start from this tour. It's a fresh young side, you can identify, and groom this team."
Team India will next be in action vs New Zealand in a 3-match T20 series, starting November 18 in Wellington.
