Under Rohit Sharma, India have clinched their second T20 World Cup in 2024, at the Kensington Oval, in Bridgetown, Barbados, as they got the better of South Africa in the final, to end their wait of 17 years for that respective title, and also ended a 11-year drought of winning an ICC trophy.
At the end of the tournament, Rohit announced his T20I retirement to bring the curtains down on what was a successful 17-year-long career in this format. Along with him, Virat Kohli also has declared his retirement from the format along with Ravindra Jadeja.
Now, with no Rohit Sharma, India will need a new opening combination in this format of the game, but they will also require a captain to handle the young team, who will aim for the trophy on back-to-back occasions in 2026, set to be played in India.
India selectors find a pleasant headache for captaincy options
The Indian team is scheduled to tour Zimbabwe next for s five match T20I series, where only three players of the T20 World Cup squad will be part of- the opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, the middle order batter, and wicket-keeper Sanju Samson and the power-hitting batter, Shivam Dube.
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The squad has also seen the young players who have a glorious time in the IPL to feature. The left-handed opening batter Abhishek Sharma, who smashed 484 runs in 16 innings of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024, at a strike rate of over 200, could come as number three.
India have decided to go with young Shubman Gill in the captaincy position, who also led the Gujarat Titans in this last IPL, and failed to finish their campaign among the top four, for the very first time in their third edition of the competition.
Gill didn’t have a smooth time with the bat in the IPL 2024, as he managed 426 runs in 12 innings, at an average of under 39, with a strike rate of close to 150, with a couple of fifties and a century, with a best of 104-runs against Chennai Super Kings.
It’s a great headache for India at the moment given they have so many options for the position. Their supreme all-rounder Hardik Pandya has captained the team in the Caribbean and many other places in the past, when the senior players were rested. He has been a great member for the spot, having won the IPL 2022 and ending up as the runner-up in 2023.
KL Rahul is another great potential successor for the team in the position, as he did in South Africa or other places. However, having been out of the action for a long time in this format, the selectors may not think of going back to him, and even if they do, then it could be only as a player.
The Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer is another choice for the captaincy role, as he has shown his calmness and great skill in the leadership role, to carry them to their third title in this league. With the KKR mentor Gautam Gambhir being in line for the next head coach of the side, the prospect of Iyer becoming a new head coach could be a reality.
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Sanju Samson has the experience of leadership as he has done for the Rajasthan Royals, and has been consistent for them in recent times. But with him being absent from the playing eleven most times, this may not be an option. While Jasprit Bumrah, who is a guaranteed member in any XI for any team in any format, could also be a suitable candidate, with the board managing his workload, this may not be a possibility.
So, other options like Shreyas Iyer, and Hardik Pandya could be the likely candidates to become the new India T20I captain in the future.