Kapil Dev bats for Hardik Pandya as India's white ball captain | MyKhel Exclusive

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Now that India are white ball champions by the virtue of winning the T20 World Cup last year and Champions Trophy earlier this year - the immediate challenge for Team India is to find the next white ball captain after Rohit Sharma.

Who would be the best choice? Former India's World Cup winning captain Kapil Dev simplified it in an exclusive talk with MyKhel.

"To me, Hardik Pandya is my white ball captain. There are many contenders for the post but Pandya is my choice," Kapil Dev said during a PGTI pro-am event in Greater Noida on Saturday (April 5).

Pandya, who was on the verge of being named as the T20 captain last year after India's T20 World Cup triumph, missed the bus because the selectors backed Surya Kumar Yadav.

But after seeing the way Pandya has evolved as a player in last few years, Kapil Dev can't see anyone else taking over the white ball captain's post. "Pandya is relatively young and can build a team around him for the next ICC events," Kapil Dev said.

The former Indian captain also said that India won't be able to field one captain for all formats because lack of all-format players.

"Ideally, Hardik should also play Test cricket and since he isn't playing, India will need multiple captain for three formats," he said. As India prepare for the next set of challenges in white ball cricket, Pandya, being Kapil Dev's top choice, gets a huge boost.

With the backing of BCCI and the team management, Pandya would most likely be a top contender to take over as the new white ball captain if things go in his favour. So what if he is injury prone? As long as he can deliver the goods for his team both as a player and captain, it won't be a challenge for him.