Former India batter Gautam Gambhir has expressed his desire for Rohit Sharma to lead the team in the T20 World Cup 2024, despite being critical of his captaincy in the ODI World Cup final loss. Rohit led India to the final where they suffered a six-wicket defeat against Australia. Although India were unbeaten leading up to the final, they stumbled at the last hurdle. Gambhir emphasized that while Hardik Pandya has been leading the team in T20Is for the past year, he believes that Rohit should be given the captaincy. He also insisted that both Rohit and Virat Kohli should be included in the squad for the T20 World Cup.
Gambhir stated, “Absolutely, both Kohli and Rohit need to be picked, both should be picked. And, more importantly, I want to see Rohit Sharma captain in the T20 World Cup. Yes, Hardik Pandya has captained in T20Is, but I still want to see Rohit Sharma captain in the T20 World Cup,” in an interview with Sportskeeda.
He added, “In this World Cup, he has shown that with his batting. If Rohit Sharma is picked, Virat Kohli will automatically get picked. If Rohit Sharma decides to play the T20 World Cup, he should be selected as a captain and not just as a batter.”
Recently, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) appointed Suryakumar Yadav as captain for the upcoming T20I series against Australia, set to start on November 23. Yadav will lead the team in the absence of regular captain Rohit Sharma, who has been rested following India’s World Cup final defeat, and vice-captain Hardik Pandya, who is sidelined due to injury.
Yadav will be supported by deputy captain Ruturaj Gaikwad for the first three T20Is, while Shreyas Iyer will join the squad for the last two T20Is in Raipur and Bengaluru, respectively, taking over the role of vice-captain from Gaikwad.
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to take place next year in West Indies and the United States of America.
