Following India’s victory in the T20 World Cup 2024, Rohit Sharma announced his retirement from T20 international cricket. This has raised the question of who will be India’s new T20I captain.

For the ongoing T20I series against Zimbabwe, the BCCI has selected a second-string team with Shubman Gill as the captain.

According to a report by ANI, Hardik Pandya is expected to be named the captain for India’s T20I team starting from the white-ball tour of Sri Lanka later this month. A BCCI source confirmed, “Hardik Pandya is set to lead the Indian team in T20Is following Rohit Sharma’s retirement. He is also unlikely to be rested for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka.”

Hardik Pandya was instrumental in India’s T20 World Cup win, notably defending 15 runs in the final over to secure a seven-run victory over South Africa in the final at the Kensington Oval, Barbados. Throughout the tournament, Pandya took 11 wickets in eight innings and scored 144 runs in six innings, with his best batting performance being an unbeaten 50 off 27 balls against Bangladesh in the Super 8 stage.

Additionally, sources indicate that KL Rahul will lead the ODI team during the Sri Lanka tour as Rohit Sharma will be rested. The source added, “KL Rahul will lead the team in Rohit Sharma’s absence, as the board believes he performs well in the longer format.”

The limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka, starting on June 27, will also mark the beginning of Gautam Gambhir’s tenure as head coach of the Indian cricket team.