Hardik Pandya will be expected to begin his full-time T20 captaincy tenure on a bold note as the Indian T20 team prepares to start its life beyond Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul with the three match series against Sri Lanka, beginning here on Tuesday.
The followers of Indian cricket got more than glimpse of Hardik's vision for the team when led the team to victory in the rain-hit T20 series in New Zealand.
In an ODI World Cup year, the shortest format is not priority for the Indian team but the series will allow Hardik to start planning for the future, specifically the 2024 T20 World Cup. India's famed top three -- Rohit, Kohli and Rahul -- are not part of the squad and irrespective of their T20 future , the team must prepare for life without them.