Rohit Sharma was not an ideal choice to lead India in the T20 World Cup 2024 according to the opinion of former Kolkata Knight Riders team director Joy Bhattacharjya. This comes after Jay Shah recently confirmed that Rohit will captain the Indian team in the ICC event.
The India squad is yet to be announced for the ICC event, which will be played in June and will be jointly hosted by the West Indies and the USA.
Rohit Sharma had not played a single T20I after T20 World Cup 2022, as he prepared for the 2023 World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup. There were speculations about his future in the T20I squad, but Rohit squashed those rumours as he returned to lead India to a 3-0 win over Afghanistan at home last December.
The decision to appoint Rohit Sharma as India’s captain for the T20 World Cup hampered the team: Joy Bhattacharjya
Bhattacharya, former Kolkata Knight Riders team director, said that Rohit Sharma shouldn’t be even in the Indian squad for the T20 World Cup and instead, Jasprit Bumrah should be leading the team.
Bhattacharjya sparked a fresh debate as he questioned the very decision to appoint Rohit as the skipper for the ICC tournament, labeling him as “not an ideal choice”.
“The decision to appoint Rohit Sharma as India’s captain for the T20 World Cup may have hampered the team. At this point, Sharma is not the ideal choice to lead the team in the T20I format,” he said on Cricbuzz.
He also attacked Rohit’s performance in the current IPL2024, claiming that even though he will be selected as captain, India will still need to make someone bat lower in the order, possibly Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, or Shubman Gil, all of whom are in better form than Rohit. Rohit Sharma has amassed 303 runs for MI in eight games thus far, less than Kohli (430 runs) and Gill (304).
“I have the utmost respect for Rohit Sharma and I think he is an amazing cricketer. However, he is currently out of batting form. Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shubman Gill are in better form right now and are strong contenders for the opening positions. However, since Sharma is the captain, he will open, meaning one of those in-form players will have to bat lower down the order,” he added.
Joy Bhattacharjya reckoned that Bumrah is better fit to lead the Indian side in the World Cup than Rohit.
“I would choose Jasprit Bumrah over Rohit Sharma as captain because Bumrah’s skill as a bowler makes him a vital member of the team. Rohit has achieved everything in cricket, but there’s one thing he needs to do; win a World Cup. He won the T20 World Cup in 2007 and wants to end his career on a high note, we call it book-ending. That’s a great thought,” he concluded.
