After Rohit Sharma's announced to retire from T20Is after winning the ICC T20 World Cup 2024, BCCI sources said that all-rounder Hardik Pandya is likely to lead Team India in the shortest format of the game. They also added that wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul is set to lead the team in One Day International (ODIs).
While speaking to news agency ANI, BCCI sources said, “Hardik Pandya is all set to lead the Indian team in the T20, Rohit Sharma's announced his retirement. Hardik is also unlikely to be rested for the upcoming series vs Sri Lanka. KL Rahul will lead the Indian team in the absence of Rohit Sharma as the board believes he makes runs in the longer format.”
After the T20 world Cup 2024 win, India captain Rohit Sharma who played 159 T20 internationals announced his retirement from the format. He said, “This was my last (T20) game as well… No better time to say goodbye to this format. I've loved every moment of this. I started my India career playing this format. This is what I wanted, I wanted to win the cup."
Coming back to Hardik Pandya who is reportedly set to lead India in T20I series against Sri Lanka, made a significant impact during the T20 World Cup by scoring 144 runs in six innings, averaging 48.00 with a strike rate of 151.57. He achieved a half-century, with his highest score being 50*. Additionally, Pandya took 11 wickets in eight games, averaging 17.36 with an economy rate of 7.64, and his best bowling figures were 3/20.
The tournament also served as a redemption for Pandya, who faced boos in every stadium across India during the IPL 2024 after taking over the captaincy from Sharma. Furthermore, Pandya faced online trolling and fan wars, with accusations of betraying the Mumbai Indians (MI) franchise, Rohit Sharma, and his former team, the Gujarat Titans (GT), which he led to an IPL title in 2022. Meanwhile, KL Rahul was left out of the Men in Blue T20 World Cup squad despite his outstanding performance in the 2023 ODI World Cup held in India.
Earlier, The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Secretary Jay Shah said that assured that "seniors will be there" in the Champions Trophy 2025 and the World Test Championship final if India qualify for it. The Champions Trophy, ICC's ODI tournament, will be held in Pakistan in February-March 2025 while the final for the World Test Championship will be in June 2025 at Lord's. India, with 68.52% of points, are on top of Test rankings at present.
As Gautam Gambhir is all set to take the reins as the head coach, he is also entitled to his own support staff. News agency ANI citing sources said that former seamers Zaheer Khan and Lakshmipathy Balaji are being considered for the position of national team's bowling coach.
India's third-highest wicket-taker by a pacer in ODIs, Zaheer has picked up 311 Test wickets in 92 matches and overall, 610 scalps in 309 international matches across all formats for Men in Blue. He is considered one of the greatest left-arm pacers to have played the sport.
Balaji has represented Team India in eight Test matches where he has managed to snap 27 wickets at an average of 37.18. On the other hand, he has bagged 34 wickets in 30 ODIs at an average of 39.52.
(With inputs from ANI)
