Reports: Rohit still India’s first captain for T20 WC 2024. Hardik Pandya has been appointed captain of Mumbai Indians ahead of IPL 2024.
Mumbai Indians named Hardik Pandya as their captain for the upcoming edition, replacing Rohit Sharma, in a key move ahead of the IPL 2024 auction. Pandya recently trade from Gujarat Titans for INR 15 crore plus an undisclosed transfer fee. Since his appointment as MI captain, there have been persistent rumors that the all-rounder will also captain India in the T20 World Cup 2024 in place of Sharma.
According to sources, a BCCI official disputed any such claim, stating that the decision of an IPL franchise has no bearing on the club management’s captaincy decisions. Notably, Sharma has not played a T20I since India’s humbling 10-wicket loss to England in the T20 World Cup 2022 semi-final.
Despite this, Dainik Jagran reports that during a recent meeting in Delhi with BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Rahul Dravid. Sharma underlined his desire to be confirm as India’s captain for the T20 World Cup from the start. According to the report, the BCCI source plainly mentioned that the board is in favor of appointing Sharma as captain if both he and Pandya are in the team.
Pandya has led the T20I side since the T20 World Cup 2022, with veteran players Sharma and Kohli not playing the shortest format. Suryakumar Yadav led the side against Australia and South Africa due to his inability to play in the previous two series due to an ankle ailment.
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Dropping Rohit and Kohli for T20 World Cup 2024 will be a big call
Meanwhile, some analysts have recommended that the future T20 World Cup 2024 have solely young players instead of Sharma and Kohli. Notably, the Indian captain has competed in every edition of the T20 World Cup since its inception in 2007. Kohli, on the other side, is the leading run-scorer in the T20I World Cup (1141 runs) and T20Is (4008 runs). As a result, benching both senior players will be a significant call for India ahead of the competition, as they are anxious to end their ten-year ICC Trophy drought.