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Former India captain Sourav Ganguly said Rohit Sharma should be the captain of all formats once he is available for selection. The debate about Rohit’s captaincy future, especially in T20Is, has been in full swing ever since India suffered a heartbreak in the final of the ODI World Cup. While Rohit hasn’t played any T20I for more than a year now, it is widely reported that the opener would be back at the helm for the T20 World Cup, slated in June this year. “Once Rohit is back playing all formats, he should be the captain of India, because he has done so well in the World Cup,” said the former BCCI president.
Rohit was supposed to be back as captain from the South Africa tour itself but he requested the selectors for a break from the entire white-ball leg just like Virat Kohli. In Rohit’s absence, Suryakumar Yadav will lead India in the T20Is against South Africa while KL Rahul will take over as captain the ODIs. India are slated to play three T20Is and as many ODIs before restarting their journey in the World Test Champions with a two-match Test series.
Rohit, Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah will return for the Test series. Rohit, of course, will lead the side in the Test series. Ganguly said Rohit and Kohli should be “integral” parts of India’s T20I set-up if they want to play. “You saw in the World Cup how well they played. They are absolutely integral and an important part of Indian cricket.”
Interestingly, both Rohit and Kohli haven’t played a T20I since the semifinals against England in the 2022 T20 World Cup and the BCCI was not clear whether the duo should be in India’s scheme of things for the T20 global showpiece in six months.
After the 2022 T20 World Cup, Hardik Pandya was named India’s T20 captain but following his injury during the ODI World Cup, Suryakumar Yadav is leading the team in the ongoing five-T20 series against Australia.
“World Cups are different than a bilateral series because the pressures are different. They have been exceptional this World Cup and hopefully six-seven months down the line in the West Indies they will be again at their best,” Ganguly said.
“He’s (Rohit) a leader. I expect and I presume that he will continue as captain till the T20 World Cup in 2024.”
When asked about the Rohit and Kohli taking a break from the limited-overs matches of the South Africa tour, Ganguly said it was the correct decision, especially considering the kind of effort they put in the ODI World Cup World Cup barely a few weeks ago.
“Very rightfully, they have taken a break because there is so much cricket all the time. I cannot imagine that you played a World Cup final on the 19th and in three days’ time you’re playing a T20I series against the same team,” Ganguly said.
“It is not easy to pick yourselves up, especially with the pressures and demands of the World Cup. I’m happy that they have got a break.
“They will come back fresh for Tests — there’re five Tests against England — there’s IPL, and then the T20 World Cup, so it’s non-stop cricket. Hopefully they’ll come back fresh and keep performing.”
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