Ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, the five-time winners, the Mumbai Indians, named Hardik Pandya as their captain, taking Rohit Sharma place. Interestingly, Hardik Pandya was just traded from the Gujarat Titans for a sum of INR 15 crore plus an unknown transfer fee. Since he was named MI captain, there have been many rumors claiming that the all-rounder, not Sharma, will lead the Indian squad in the T20 World Cup in 2024.
However, a BCCI official reportedly refuted this claim and stated that, independent of an IPL franchise, the captain’s choice will not have an impact on a team’s management. Notably, Rohit Sharma hasn’t participated in a Twenty20 international match since India’s devastating 10-wicket defeat to England in the T20 World Cup 2022 semifinal.
Still, according to a report in Dainik Jagran, Rohit Sharma indicated that he would like to be officially recognized as India’s captain for the T20 World Cup right away during a recent meeting in Delhi with BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Rahul Dravid. The source from the BCCI explicitly stated that if Pandya and Sharma are included in the squad, the board supports Sharma being named captain, according to the article.
Senior professionals Sharma and Kohli have not played the shortest format, but Pandya has been guiding the T20I team since the T20 World Cup 2022. But because of an ankle ailment that kept him out of action for the last two series, Suryakumar Yadav captained the team against South Africa and Australia.
Ignoring Rohit Sharma and Kohli for the 2024 T20 World Cup will be a major decision.
In the meantime, several experts have advised leaving Sharma and Kohli out of the forthcoming T20 World Cup 2024 and starting solely with youngsters. Remarkably, the Indian captain has participated in every T20 World Cup since the competition’s inception in 2007. However, Kohli leads the field in both T20Is (408 runs) and the T20I World Cup (1141 runs). Since India is eager to break their ten-year ICC Trophy drought, benching both of their veteran players will be crucial going into the competition.
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