Hardik Pandya "obviously" is in line, Prithvi Shaw can be a "very aggressive captain": Gautam Gambhir

Former Indian batter Gautam Gambhir has named Hardik Pandya and Prithvi Shaw as credible captaincy candidates in the future.

The Board for Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) is reportedly caught up in two minds regarding the prospect of a split captaincy. The unrelenting schedule and workload have made the management consider appointing multiple skippers, especially with a few International Cricket Council (ICC) events coming up.

With Rohit Sharma entering the twilight of his career, the T20I captain's post could be passed on to Hardik Pandya. The all-rounder has had a great start to his captaincy career; he led the Gujarat Titans (GT) to the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 title in their maiden season.

Since then, Pandya has led India across their tours of Ireland, the West Indies, and New Zealand.

Speaking at an event organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) in New Delhi on Sunday, Gambhir gave his opinion on Team India's captaincy prospects in the coming years.

"Hardik Pandya obviously is in line," he said. "But that's going to be unfortunate for Rohit because I think judging his captaincy in only one ICC event is not the right way to probably judge him."

Pandya recently became the second captain after Virat Kohli to secure a T20I series win in New Zealand. Team India defeated the Kiwis by a 1-0 margin in the three-match rain-marred series.

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"I know a lot of people talk about his off-field activities" - Gautam Gambhir on Prithvi Shaw

Prithvi Shaw was labeled a prodigal talent due to his exploits in junior-level cricket in Mumbai. His career trajectory seemed on point when he led India to the 2018 U-19 World Cup and landed an IPL deal as well.

Shaw looked set for a long spell after scoring a Test century on debut, but a suspension due to a doping violation in 2019 changed things for the worse.

Since coming out of the suspended term, Shaw has found it tough to break into the senior side. While he has managed to be among the runs on the domestic circuit of late, he is still awaiting his Team India return. He was recently passed over for the India A side to tour Bangladesh.

Gautam Gambhir, however, believes that Prithvi Shaw is captaincy material.

"The reason I've picked Prithvi Shaw, I know a lot of people talk about his off-field activities, but that is what the job of the coach and the selectors are," Gambhir said. "The selectors' job isn't just to pick the 15, but also to get people walk the right path."

"Prithvi Shaw is one I feel can be a very aggressive captain, a very successful captain because you see that aggression in the way a person plays the sport," he added.

Apart from leading the youth side to the U-19 World Cup four years ago, Shaw also captained Mumbai to the Vijay Hazare Trophy in March 2021.

Do you see Hardik Pandya and Prithvi Shaw leading Team India in the future? Let us know what you think.