On the eve of the Rajkot Test between India and England, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah confirmed that Rohit Sharma will captain India in the forthcoming T20 World Cup 2024 edition, to be held in West Indies and USA. At an event in the Rajkot, which saw the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium being renamed to Niranjan Shah Stadium on Wednesday (Feb 14), Shah confirmed that Hitman will lead the Men in Blue in the mega event which starts in early June. India are placed in Group A with Pakistan, USA, Canada and Ireland.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!After the announcement from Shah, former Indian spinner Anil Kumble said that he isn’t surprised with the call. Speaking to Sports18, Kumble pointed out, “The Rohit Sharma announcement, I don’t think was a surprise because I certainly believe that we need that stability, especially at the top. Rohit is someone who has done exceptionally well as India’s captain.”
Kumble added, “His T20 form in the IPL hasn’t been special in the last couple of years but he’s a quality player. We saw against Afghanistan, when the team was struggling a bit he came and scored that wonderful hundred. It’s important you have that kind of stability going into the T20 World Cup.”
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On Wednesday, Shah said in the event in Rajkot, “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 am confident that India will lift the 2024 T20 World Cup under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy at Barbados.”
Rohit — a white-ball legend — had not featured in India’s T20I setup since their 2022 T20 World Cup semifinal loss, to eventual winners England in Adelaide. He returned to the shortest format after 14 months during India’s three T20Is versus Afghanistan, at home, early this year. The series also saw Virat Kohli’s return in the format, after equal number of months. Shah also opined on Kohli’s spot with regard to the T20 WC. He said, “We will talk about him [soon].”
Kohli is currently on a break from international cricket due to personal reasons and has not featured in India’s ongoing home Tests versus England. On Thursday (Feb 15), India and England locked horns on Day 1 of the third Test in Rajkot. Opting to bat first, India went to lunch at 93/3 with captain Rohit surpassing the 50-run mark for the first time in the series. The five-match series is currently levelled at 1-1.
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