With Rohit Sharma retiring from T20Is last month, Team India will soon have a new captain in the shortest format.
The veteran batsman had not played a single T20I last year but was called up to the squad earlier this year just for the T20 World Cup. Rohit fully justified the decision by leading India to their second T20 World Cup title and first since 2007.
He also led the team from the front and finished the competition as India’s leading run-scorer. Soon after the win over South Africa in the final, Rohit also brought down the curtain on his illustrious T20I career. The BCCI is all set to announce India’s new T20I captain when it announces the squad for the upcoming three-match series against Sri Lanka.
Hardik Pandya will not replace Rohit Sharma:
Several players are in the contention to replace Rohit Sharma as the captain of the Indian T20I team. However, recent reports indicated that Hardik Pandya is likely to be the new captain. The all-rounder was the captain of the team last year when Rohit was not playing T20Is. Hardik Pandya was also the vice-captain of the team for the T20 World Cup.
While many consider Hardik Pandya to be the favourite to become India’s new T20I captain, PTI’s Kushan Sarkar reported that the selectors and team management could spring a big surprise. Speaking to X, Sarkar wrote that India will have a new captain till the 2026 T20 World Cup and it might not be Hardik Pandya.
“We could be in for a surprise. We could have a new captain till the 2026 T20 World Cup and it might not be Hardik Pandya. The new captain could be the new head coach Gautam Gambhir and the unanimous choice of the selection committee. Let’s hope so,” Sarkar wrote.
Shortly after Sarkar’s post, Jagran News’ Abhishek Tripathi hinted that Suryakumar Yadav is likely to replace Rohit as the new captain, writing, “The sun is rising.”
— Abhishek Tripathi / Abhishek Tripathi (@abhishereporter) July 16, 2024
Suryakumar had led the T20I team last year as well, but only when Pandya was sidelined due to injury. The right-handed batsman is one of the best T20I batsmen in the world and has been the backbone of the team in the last few years. He is currently the highest-ranking Indian batsman in T20Is.
Meanwhile, the T20I series between India and Sri Lanka is scheduled to be played from July 27 to 30. After the T20Is, India and Sri Lanka will also play three ODIs against each other.
