Wellington’s Sky Stadium is ready to host the 1st T20I match between India and New Zealand on Friday. The Indian team will have a new captain and new coach for the tour with Hardik Pandya leading the side and VVS Laxman taking the role of interim coach.
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VVS Laxman has been named the interim coach of the side after Rahul Dravid and his support staff decided to take a rest on the Kiwi tour. In the absence of Rohit Sharma, Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya has been assigned to lead the Indian team in the T20I format.
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Rishabh Pant has been named the vice-captain of the Indian team in both the T20I and ODI formats. Hardik will not be playing in the ODIs, and Shikhar Dhawan will be leading the Indian team in the ODI format.
Is Hardik Pandya captain of India
Hardik Pandya will be leading the Indian T20I team in the 3-match series against New Zealand starting Friday. Rohit Sharma is the permanent captain of the Indian team, whereas KL Rahul is the vice-captain, and both of them are not a part of the New Zealand tour.
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Team India had a choice between Hardik and Rishabh Pant, but India went on with Hardik as captain and Pant as the vice-captain of the side. Both of them lead their respective IPL franchises as well. Although, Hardik’s effort of leading the Gujarat Titans to win IPL 2022 in their very first attempt gave him the edge.
It is not the first time that Hardik will be leading the Indian team, he recently led the Indian team on the Ireland tour as well when all the test specialists were not with the team. He became the 9th Indian captain to lead the team in T20Is. Interestingly, he is the first Indian captain to take a wicket in T20Is.
However, the readers must understand that Hardik is not the permanent captain of the Indian T20I team and once Rohit Sharma will be back, he will only be leading the Indian team in all formats of the game.
