Dinesh Karthik has chosen two youngsters as future all-format captaincy options for India. India’s pace bowling sensation and Test vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah has been left out as a captaincy option by Karthik.
In an interview with Cricbuzz, the former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman picked Shubman Gill as the most likely all-format captain for India and he also kept Rishabh Pant in contention.
Shubman Gill, the youngest of the lot, captained India to a 4-1 series win against Zimbabwe, earlier, this year. That marked the initiation of his career as a skipper of the national side.
Rishabh Pant was last seen as Team India’s skipper back in 2022 against the South Africans in a T20I series when the designated captain KL Rahul was ruled out due to an injury. Since then, he was not seen in such a role, also because he remained injured for months after the major blow in the form of an accident.
The man of the moment, India pacer Jasprit Bumrah, has also had some captaincy experience with India in a series against Ireland last year after he marked a return from injury.
“Two players come straight into my mind who are young, who have the potential, and definitely can lead India in all the formats in the near future. One Rishabh Pant, two Shubman Gill,” said Karthik to Cricbuzz.
Both Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant are currently participating in the Duleep Trophy 2024 tournament. While Shubman Gill is captaining the India A team, Rishabh Pant, on the other hand, is the designated wicket-keeper batter of the India B team.
Dinesh Karthik is next up for a hectic franchise cricket schedule
Dinesh Karthik was last seen on the cricket field playing in the IPL 2024 with the Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, after his team’s eliminator defeat, the veteran finisher announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.
He will now don a new role as he has been picked as RCB’s batting coach and mentor for the upcoming season.
On the playing front, after retiring from the IPL, Indian players are allowed to play outside leagues. Karthik, recently, became the first Indian player to be roped in from the SA20 draft. He was picked by the Paarl Royals and will be seen in action for them in SA20 2025.
Also, the Legends League Cricket 2024, which is to be held in the month of September, will feature Dinesh Karthik. This will be the first time when Karthik will be making his appearance in the LLC. Hence, Karthik awaits a very hectic schedule and a lot of new responsibilities is on his shoulders.
