Last week, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah confirmed that Rohit Sharma will be leading 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 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.
Days after the major announcement, former India skipper Sourav Ganguly highlighted Rohit Sharma’s exceptional leadership at the World Cup 2023 and backed the board’s decision to make him captain for the forthcoming T20 World Cup.
"Rohit Sharma is the right choice as India captain for the T20 World Cup. The way he led the Indian team and won 10 matches in the 50-over World Cup is still fresh in our memory. So, Rohit was the best choice," Ganguly quoted as saying by mid-way.
On a separate note, Ganguly showered rich praise on young Indian batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan for their impressive performance in the third Test against England in Rajkot.
While Jaiswal slammed a whirlwind double century (214* off 236 balls) in as many games, debutant Sarfaraz scored half-centuries (62 and 68*) in both innings to script India’s emphatic 434-run victory.
"Jaiswal is not only a good player, he's capable of playing all in formats of the game. Sarfaraz has started well. He now has to score in foreign countries. Sarfaraz is a good example for budding cricketers, who must keep in mind that if they score consistently, they will get their chances," Ganguly stated.
Commenting on England’s aggressive Bazball approach, the former BCCI President said: "Bazball is good, but it's difficult for England to be successful in Indian conditions. I will be surprised if India lose the series. Please remember that India are playing without Virat [Kohli], KL [Rahul]. It's a young team with many new faces, and yet, England are struggling."
During the Rajkot Test, senior India off-spinner R Ashwin was forced to withdraw from the game midway due to a family medical emergency. He didn’t feature in the third day’s play and rejoined the team on Day 4.
Ganguly said that Ashwin's release in the middle of a match proved that this is a confident India team.
"India are so confident that they allowed R Ashwin to go back home in the middle of a Test. India look much more motivated in this series," he opined.
India are leading the five-match series 2-1. The fourth Test is slated to get underway on February 23 in Ranchi.
