In a significant development, Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), announced on Wednesday (February 14) that Rohit Sharma will be leading the Indian team at the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled to take place in the West Indies and USA from June 1 to June 29.

It’s worth noting that after India’s exit from the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-finals, Hardik Pandya assumed the captaincy in the shortest format. However, an ankle injury sidelined Hardik for a substantial period, leading to Suryakumar Yadav taking over the captaincy for a couple of series.

Unfortunately, Suryakumar also sustained an injury during the South Africa tour, paving the way for Rohit Sharma to return as the T20I captain during the recent home series against Afghanistan.

With less than four months left until the T20 World Cup 2024, Shah put an end to speculations by officially naming Rohit as the captain for the prestigious tournament.

“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 would like to say that I am confident that India will lift the 2024 T20 World Cup under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy at Barbados,” Jay Shah said at an event to rename the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) Stadium to Niranjan Shah Stadium.

The event was attended by India captain Rohit Sharma, coach Rahul Dravid, and chief selector Ajit Agarkar, where Jay Shah announced this decision.

After the event, the BCCI secretary elaborated on the reasoning behind appointing Rohit as the leader for the T20 World Cup.

“Rohit was captaining (in the past and in other formats) and he came back for the Afghanistan series after a year, which means we were going to let him continue forward,” Shah told the media.

On his return to T20I cricket, Rohit Sharma led India to a 3-0 victory over Afghanistan. While the right-handed opener failed to get off the mark in the first two games, he responded with a whirlwind 121* in the third T20I.

Shah further stated that there weren’t any available options for T20I captaincy after Hardik injured himself in the World Cup last year. The BCCI secretary also confirmed Pandya as Rohit’s deputy.

“Hardik Pandya will definitely be the vice-captain. When Hardik was injured in the World Cup, who else can we give the captaincy? In the third T20I against Afghanistan, India were 22/4 and the way Rohit Sharma took the team to 212/4, we can’t question much about him, right? He has the ability, as I said, we won ten games in the ODI World Cup. We didn’t win the final, but it’s part and parcel of the game. Whoever plays better, wins,” he remarked.

Jay Shah also addressed the matter concerning Virat Kohli, who withdrew from the entire five-Test series against England at home citing ‘personal reasons.’

“If somebody is asking for a personal leave in 15 years then it is his right to ask for it. Virat is not that kind of a player that he would ask for a leave without any reason. We must back and trust our players,” he said.

However, Shah declined to disclose whether Kohli would be participating in the T20 World Cup 2024. “We will address Virat’s situation later,” he stated.

Although the BCCI announced the extension of Rahul Dravid’s contract as head coach after the World Cup 2023, they did not specify the duration. Nevertheless, Shah affirmed that Dravid would serve as the coach for the T20 World Cup.

“After World Cup, Rahul Dravid went to South Africa and we couldn’t meet. There have been back-to-back series and I met him after a long time at the function today. I will speak to him for sure whenever we get the time but he will be the coach for the T20 World Cup,” said Shah.

(CricketNext inputs)