Deep Dasgupta believes Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be strong contenders to lead India in the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, which is set to take place in July.
Team India are likely to play the Sri Lanka series with a much-changed side. Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and other senior pros will be in England preparing for a grueling 5-match Test series against the hosts.
Speaking of possible captaincy options for the 3-match ODI and 3-match T20I series versus Sri Lanka, Deep Dasgupta told Sports Today:
"Obviously, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul are not available. The senior-most player available in that side is Shikhar, so Shikhar (captaincy option) I guess. One of the questions was 'who do I see captaining the side?', I mentioned Shikhar, let's not forget, if Bhuvneshwar is fit and ready to play, he is a good captain candidate as well for that series."
Both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan have been overlooked from the 24-man squad picked for the World Test Championship final and the five-match Test series against England. While Dhawan's omission was expected, Kumar's exclusion did raise a few eyebrows.
Deep Dasgupta believes injury and fitness concerns have cost Bhuvneshwar Kumar a place in the Test side. The bowler made a strong comeback in the limited-overs home series against England earlier this year.
However, Kumar had to miss a few games for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the suspended IPL due to a thigh strain.
"I am not surprised (Kumar's omission from Test squad). They have already got 6 fast bowlers (for the England tour). I understand that those conditions might help Bhuvneshwar but he has not played red-ball cricket for 2 to 2 and half years. And he has struggled with his fitness post 2018," the former India wicketkeeper said.
"You don't know whether his body will take playing 5-day cricket. As a bowler, if you're playing, you might have to bowl 20 overs a day and come back the next day as well. I don't know whether you want to take that chance."
With India likely to pick a relatively inexperienced squad for the limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, Deep Dasgupta highlighted that having an experienced candidate like Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be an asset to the side.