STATE TIMES NEWS
NEW DELHI: T20 World Cup-winning skipper Rohit Sharma will continue to lead India in the ODI and Test formats BCCI secretary Jay Shah said on Sunday, exuding confidence that the country will win next year’s Champions Trophy and World Test Championship under his captaincy.
The 37-year-old Rohit, who became the third Indian captain after legendary Kapil Dev and Mahendra Singh Dhoni to win a global trophy, has announced his retirement from the T20 format.
“The next stage is the WTC final and the Champions Trophy. I have full faith in Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, that we will be the champions in both these tournaments,” secretary Shah said in a video message.
The Champions Trophy, scheduled in Pakistan next year, will be held after eight years (since 2017 in UK), and even though the draft schedule has been submitted to the ICC, the BCCI hasn’t yet given its green light to it.
It is understood BCCI will again push for the ‘Hybrid Model’ like 2023 ODI Asia Cup where India played all its matches, including the ones against Pakistan, in Sri Lanka. Shah’s message, in a way, has put to rest speculations about whether Rohit would quit leadership role in other formats.
Till Rohit calls it quits, India will once again have split captaincy with Rohit leading in ODIs and Tests while Hardik Pandya is expected to take charge of the T20 outfit.
Rohit had also led India to the finals of the WTC and ODI World Cup last year, where India lost the summit clash after winning 10 straight games.
Shah dedicated India’s T20 World Cup triumph to the three cricketers, who quit the format after the title victory and outgoing coach Rahul Dravid.
“I want to dedicate this victory to coach Rahul Dravid, captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja.
“This was our third final in the last year. We lost the WTC final in June, 2023. In November, 2023 we won hearts after 10 wins but couldn’t win the Cup. I had said in Rajkot that we will win the heart and also the Cup on June 24 and install our national flag, and our captain installed the Indian flag,” the secretary said.
Rohit, Kohli and Jadeja are expected to comeback for the ODI series against Sri Lanka slated for August.
India will play six ODIs – three against Sri Lanka in an away series and three at home against England in early February before the Champions Trophy.