Veteran commentator Aakash Chopra recently blind ranked India's T20I captains. At the end of his picks, the former India Test opener said he was content
with the result.
India are one of the most successful teams in the history of T20 World Cups. They are the only nation, alongside England and the West Indies, that has won the coveted title twice. The Men in Blue, led by Suryakumar Yadav, will be entering the 10th edition of the marquee event next year as the defending champions.
During an interaction with ESPNcricinfo, Chopra was asked to rank five Indian captains based on their T20I performance. Suryakumar Yadav was the first player named, and Chopra placed him at No. 3. The Mumbai batter was named captain of the Indian team in the shortest format in November 2023 for the first time. However, that was in an interim capacity. Since being appointed full-time captain in July 2024, Suryakumar has not lost a T20I series.
Hardik Pandya was the next player tossed into the fray. Chopra assigned him the fifth position. The Baroda all-rounder did a fair job as captain in the absence of Rohit Sharma ahead of the 2024 T20 World Cup. It was believed that Hardik would be the frontrunner to replace Rohit as a full-time captain whenever the Nagpur-born steps down from the shortest format. However, Suryakumar was eventually appointed the skipper.
The iconic MS Dhoni made it to the top spot in Chopra's blind rankings. The 48-year-old was grinning ear to ear while giving Dhoni the top spot. The wicketkeeper-batter helped India win the inaugural T20 World Cup title in 2007.
Virat Kohli came in next, and Chopra put him in the fourth spot. The Delhi batter had stunning success as a captain in Tests, but the same cannot be said about his performances in the white-ball formats. He captained India only once in a T20 World Cup, and that was in 2021. The Men in Blue failed to progress to the knockouts and also lost a World Cup game against Pakistan for the first time.
Rohit Sharma, who guided India to the T20 World Cup title in 2024, came in last and earned the remaining second position behind MS Dhoni. In the end, Chopra said he was satisfied with his picks.
