The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will meet with captain Rohit Sharma and top selector Ajit Agarkar to reassess and create a plan for the Indian team across all the formats going forward for the next four years following India’s devastating World Cup final loss against Australia on Sunday.
India’s last ICC competition victory came in 2013 when they won the ICC Champions Trophy under the leadership of legendary MS Dhoni. Following the Champions Trophy 2023, The Men In Blue performed consistently to reach the knockout stage of the ICC tournaments, falling short of the prestigious titles. Given Rohit Sharma’s longevity in international cricket at 36, there is conjecture regarding his potential to lead the team going forward.
According to the reports in TOI, BCCI is keen on having a discussion with the Indian skipper and the chief selector regarding Rohit’s white-ball future and developing a future captain for the team across the format. It is said that Rohit Sharma would be focusing his energy completely on the longer format of the game for the next World Test Championship cycle, with Hardik Pandya emerging as a key candidate to lead the team in the white-ball format.
“Before the ODI World Cup, Rohit had communicated that he is fine not being considered for T20Is. The selectors have been investing heavily in youth in T20Is for the last one year. With the T20 World Cup happening in June next year, they are reluctant to deviate from that strategy With Shreyas Iyer coming back into Test reckoning and Shubman Gill batting at No. 3, there is little scope for Rahane. KL Rahul too could be considered for the Test matches as he could be a backup wicketkeeping option.”
“As of now, it seems Rohit will be focusing a lot of his energy on the Test format for the next cycle of the World Test Championship which runs till 2025. Grooming a captain for the longer formats is a key part of the agenda. With Hardik Pandya prone to injuries, selectors may look for options in ODIs.”
According to sources, Rohit Sharma has previously informed the selectors that he is fine with not being selected for T20Is. When the next ODI World Cup is hosted in South Africa in 2027, Rohit will be around 40 years old. The next major ODI competition will be the ICC Champions Trophy, which will be held in Pakistan in 2025 and BCCI would be keen to get the team ready for the next cycle of the ICC events.
Hardik Pandya, who has been captaining India in T20Is since last year, is expected to be out of international cricket until the end of January, hindering India’s preparations for the T20 World Cup. According to sources, he is unlikely to be a match fit in January, which indicates that he would be available only for the IPL 2024, to prove his case stronger for the 2024 T20 World Cup.