No harm in having Hardik as the new T20 captain: Shastri

Former India head coach Ravi Shastri on Thursday said there is ”no harm” in appointing a separate T20 captain and identified premier all-rounder Hardik Pandya as the ideal candidate.In the absence of regular skipper Rohit Sharma, Hardik will lead India in the three-match T20Is series in New Zealand, starting Friday.”For T20 cricket, there is no harm in having a new captain,” Shastri told reporters ahead of the first T20I here.”Because the volume of cricket is such, that for one player to play all three formats of the game is never going to be easy.”If Rohit is already leading in Tests and ODIs, there is no harm in identifying a new T20I captain, and if his name is Hardik Pandya, so be it.” Stand-in head coach VVS Laxman on Thursday said India will be looking to identify T20 specialists as it seeks course correction after yet another World Cup failure, and Shastri agreed with the NCA head.”That’s the way forward, VVS is right. They’ll identify specialists, especially among the youngsters.”That should be the mantra, two years from now identify and make that team into a terrific fielding side and identify roles for these youngsters who could be fearless and play that kind of cricket without any baggage.” For the T20Is against New Zealand the likes of Shubman Gill, Umran Malik, Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson have been given a chance as senior players have been rested.The 60-year-old feels that the Indian team management should groom the youngsters and emulate England’s white-ball template that has resulted in them being holders of the ODI as well as the T20 World Cup.”There’s an opportunity with this team in the future to identify roles for players, identify match-winners, and go pretty much on the template of England.”They are one team that really caught the bull by the horns after the 2015 World Cup. They sat down and said they are going to identify the best players for that format of the game – whether it’s T20 or 50-over cricket.”Which meant that if they are some senior players, and have to sit out, so be it. And they got in youngsters who were fearless, and could adapt to that pattern of the game.”It’s a template that can be followed easily, India has got a wealth of resources and it can start from this tour. It’s a fresh young side, you can identify, groom this team.” No need for Indian players to play in foreign T20 leagues =================================== Since the emergence of the IPL in 2008, many countries have started their own T20 leagues including Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL), Pakistan Premier League (PSL), Caribbean Premier League (CPL) etc.However, while the overseas players are welcomed in the IPL, the BCCI doesn’t allow any active Indian cricketer to participate in these foreign leagues.