Not Hardik Pandya! Jay Shah confirms Rohit Sharma will captain India in T20 World Cup 2024

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah on Wednesday (14th February) confirmed that Rohit Sharma will be captaining the India team in the T20 World Cup 2024. The tournament will be played in the United States of America (USA) and the Caribbean during the month of June. 

Jay Shah confirmed the development during the function to name the Saurashtra Cricket Association stadium after Niranjan Shah. The BCCI secretary during the speech said that he promised everyone that India would win the T20 World Cup 2024 under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. 

“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,” he said.

Jay Shah, the BCCI secy, at the unveiling of Niranjan Shah Stadium: "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…

— Amol Karhadkar (@karhacter) February 14, 2024

There were a lot of speculations about the Indian captaincy for the T20 World Cup 2024. Till the time Rohit Sharma was not there, Hardik Pandya was leading the team with young guns in the team. The all-rounder potentially was seen as a player to lead the team in the tournament and there were various reports related to that as well. 

This was because Rohit Sharma didn’t play a single T20I after the T20 World Cup 2022, where India faced a loss in the semi-final against England. The opening batter missed all the games in 2023 but made a return to the format as a skipper during the recently concluded three-match T20I series against Afghanistan.

Rohit Sharma didn’t have a great outing in the first two games as a batter as he bagged ducks in both games. This saw him getting a lot of criticised for his return to the format and taking the place of youngsters. However, he replied to his critics in style. 

Rohit Sharma slammed a magnificent ton in Bengaluru and silenced all the talks. His innings came at a time when India was tumbling at 22/4. The batter led from the front and slammed unbeaten 122 runs that helped his team win the game and also clinch the series 3-0 under his captaincy.

Rohit Sharma to play a vital role for India in the third Test against England 

Rohit Sharma is currently captaining the Indian team in the Test series against England. The skipper has done a decent job so far as the series between the teams is levelled at 1-1. The visitors claimed the first game in Hyderabad whereas India made a strong comeback and won the game in Vizag. 

But as a batter, Rohit Sharma didn’t have a great outing as he couldn’t score big in any of the four innings. The batter perished for low totals in the first two games and now would be hoping to turn the table in the third game, which will be played in Rajkot from 15th February. 

Rohit Sharma will have an added responsibility in the game because he will be captaining an inexperienced team. India will be without the services of Virat Kohli and KL Rahul whereas Shreyas Iyer hasn’t been picked. He needs to lead from the front if India has to fancy their chances of winning the game.