Rohit Sharma vs Hardik Pandya- Zaheer Khan Picks India's Captain For ICC T20 World Cup 2024

Former fast-bowler Zaheer Khan believes Rohit Sharma could lead Team India in the forthcoming T20 World Cup. The next edition of the T20 World Cup is scheduled to be played in the Caribbean and United States of America next year.

As of now, there is little clarity over Rohit Sharma’s participation in the competition. The senior batsman has not played a T20I for Team India since the semifinal loss against England in the 2022 T20 World Cup. In his absence, Hardik Pandya has led the team. With the allrounder currently sidelined with an injury, Suryakumar Yadav is leading the team in the ongoing five-match T20I series against Australia.

The BCCI is yet to deliver a concrete update on Rohit Sharma’s future in T20Is. According to several reports, the BCCI has left the decision to the star batsman himself. The doors of the T20I team are still open for the ODI and the Test captain and his participation in the T2o World Cup will depend on his decision.

Zaheer Khan on Rohit Sharma’s return as captain:

Since 2021, a total of 9 players have led Team India in the T20Is. While Rohit Sharma has led the team in 32 games, Hardik Pandya was the captain in 16 games. Virat Kohli led the side in 10 games, followed by Rishabh Pant who led in 5 games. Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad have led Team India in 3 games each while Jasprit Bumrah and Suryakumar Yadav were the men in charge in 2 games. KL Rahul also led the team in 1 game.

With the T20 World Cup not very far away, there is still little clarity over Team India’s captain. The way things unfolded in the last few months, it seemed Hardik Pandya would be the captain. However, the allrounder’s poor injury track record has reportedly made the BCCI worried and they are looking at other options as well.

And while only time will tell who leads Team India in next year’s T20 World Cup, Zaheer Khan believes Rohit Sharma could be the man. Speaking on Cricbuzz, the former India pacer said Rohit Sharma could be an ideal option because of his vast experience.

“Well, because T20 World Cup is just around the corner and there is not a lot of time, so you have to go in with experience. You will have to give that preference to the experienced guy and I will not be surprised if they decide to go ahead with Rohit Sharma himself,” said Zaheer.

“He’s the guy who has been around for a while. He understands handling situations, handling pressure, all those kind of aspects. You still have time for all these other names which are there in that list to take the mantle forward. 

“It’s just around six months times (for the World Cup to begin). You have a big tournament like the IPL in between which will give them enough time to prepare. So it’s either going to be Rohit Sharma or depending on how Hardik goes about his rehab, comeback. The challenge is that he’s not going to be playing that many games,” he added.

'#RohitSharma should lead #India in #T20WorldCup2024'@imZaheer & @Parthiv9 share their thoughts, on #CricbuzzLive#INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/J270g5xA9w

— Cricbuzz (@cricbuzz) November 26, 2023