Under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, India will win the T20 World Cup 2024: BCCI secretary Jay Shah
BCCI secretary Jay Shah has confirmed that Rohit Sharma will be captaining India at the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 and even claimed that the team will lift the trophy at Barbados under the opener’s stewardship.
The BCCI secretary confirmed the news during the unveiling of the Niranjan Shah Stadium on February 14, Wednesday ahead of the Rajkot Test between India and England.
“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,” Jay Shah said.
Rohit hadn’t played a T20I since India’s exit in the semi-finals of the T20 World Cup 2022 at the hands of England but made a sparkling return in the series against Afghanistan. After getting out for ducks in the first two matches, Rohit hit his 5th T20I hundred in a thrilling series finale in Bengaluru.
During Rohit’s absence from the T20I side, Hardik Pandya was the one leading the Indian team in the shortest format of the game. The all-rounder replaced Rohit as the skipper of the Mumbai Indians ahead of the IPL 2024 campaign.
This would create speculation that Hardik would be the one leading India in the World Cup in West Indies and the USA as he has led India in 11 matches so far. Suryakumar Yadav has also donned the captaincy hat in 8 matches.
However, Hardik hasn’t played a game after sustaining an injury during the ODI World Cup 2023 match against Bangladesh in Pune.
Rohit had captained India bravely in the ODI World Cup 2023 last year and led from the front as the team marched into the final of the tournament, winning all of the round-robin matches. The Indian skipper was particularly aggressive with his batting and provided India with the ideal start in the powerplay overs.
The Indian captain finished as the second-highest run-getter in the tournament with 597 runs. However, India would fall in the final hurdle against Australia, to the disappointment of the fans.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli eager to play in T20 World Cup 2024
Reports in January had stated that both Rohit and Virat Kohli had expressed their eagerness to play in the T20 World Cup 2024 and made themselves available to be selected for the shortest format of the game. This would lead to their return to the side for the Afghanistan series.
Rohit will be now in action in T20 cricket during the IPL.
The T20 World Cup 2024 will take place from June 1 to 29. India will begin their campaign against Ireland in New York on June 5 and take on arch-rivals Pakistan four days later.
India’s Schedule in T20 World Cup 2024
India vs Ireland – June 5 in New York
India vs Pakistan – June 9 in New York
India vs USA – June 12 in New York
India vs Canada – June 15 in Florida