In a big development, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah on Wednesday (February 14) confirmed that Rohit Sharma will lead India at the upcoming T20 World Cup, slated to be held in the West Indies and USA from June 1 to June 29.
Notably, Hardik Pandya was leading the Indian team in the shortest format following the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final exit. As ankle injury ruled Hardik out of the game for a considerable period, Suryakumar Yadav captained the Indian T20I side in a couple of series.
However, Suryakumar also got injured during the South Africa tour and Rohit Sharma eventually made his return as T20I captain during the home series against Afghanistan last month.
With less than four months remaining for the T20 World Cup 2024, Shah ended the speculations by declaring Rohit as captain for the showpiece tournament.
“We may have lost the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup. But we won hearts there by winning 10 matches in a row. I would like to say that I am confident that India will lift the 2024 T20 World Cup under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy at Barbados,” Shah said at an event to rename the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) Stadium to Niranjan Shah Stadium.
India skipper Rohit Sharma, coach Rahul Dravid and chief selector Ajit Agarkar were present at the event where Jay Shah made this statement.
Following the event, the BCCI secretary explained the decision to give the charge to Rohit for the T20 World Cup.
“Rohit was captaining (in the past and in other formats) and he came back for the Afghanistan series after a year, which means we were going to let him continue forward,” Shah told the media.
On his return to T20I cricket, Rohit Sharma led India to a 3-0 victory over Afghanistan. While the right-handed opener failed to get off the mark in the first two games, he responded with a whirlwind 121* in the third T20I.
Shah further stated that there weren’t any available options for T20I captaincy after Hardik injured himself in the World Cup last year. The BCCI secretary also confirmed Pandya as Rohit’s deputy.
“Hardik Pandya will definitely be the vice-captain. When Hardik was injured in the World Cup, who else can we give the captaincy? In the third T20I against Afghanistan, India were 22/4 and the way Rohit Sharma took the team to 212/4, we can’t question much about him, right? He has the ability, as I said, we won ten games in the ODI World Cup. We didn’t win the final, but it’s part and parcel of the game. Whoever plays better, wins,” he remarked.
Jay Shah also touched upon the topic of Virat Kohli, who pulled out of the entire five-Test series against England at home due to ‘personal reasons’.
"If somebody is asking for a personal leave in 15 years then it is his right to ask for it. Virat is not that kind of a player that he would ask for a leave without any reason. We must back and trust our players," he said.
However, Shah refused to share details if Kohli would be available for the T20 World Cup 2024. "We will talk about Virat later," he said.
While the BCCI confirmed the extension of Rahul Dravid’s contract as head coach after the World Cup 2023, it didn’t mention any duration. Nonetheless, Shah confirmed that Dravid will be the coach for the T20 World Cup.
“After World Cup, Rahul Dravid went to South Africa and we couldn’t meet. There have been back-to-back series and I met him after a long time at the function today. I will speak to him for sure whenever we get the time but he will be the coach for the T20 World Cup,” said Shah.
(CricketNext inputs)
