Former Indian batter Gautam Gambhir named who should be the captain of India in the 2024 T20 World Cup which is set to be co-hosted by the United States of America and West Indies in June next year.
Gambhir, who scored 97 runs in the 2011 World Cup final against Sri Lanka, believed that current skipper Rohit Sharma should keep the position in what is likely to be his last T20I World Cup.
Rohit showed an immense display of batting in the recently-held ICC World Cup 2023 where the right-handed batter scored a total of 597 runs — second most after Virat Kohli who amassed a record 765 runs.
What's more impressive about his runs is that he was always giving India a bright start due to his ability to play aggressive and attacking cricket in the powerplay (first 10 overs).
Considering their remarkable display in the mega event, Gambhir backed both Indian icons to feature in the World Cup next year.
“They (Rohit and Kohli) both need to get picked, both should be picked and more importantly, I want to see Rohit Sharma as captain in the T20 World Cup,” Gambhir said on Sportskeeda.
“Yes, Hardik has been captaining in T20Is but I still want to see Rohit as captain in the World Cup. Don’t pick Rohit Sharma just as a batter. Rohit is a phenomenal leader and has proved that with his batting in this ODI World Cup,” he added
Gambhir then added that if Rohit decides to play in the mega event next year, he should be appointed captain.
“If you are picking Rohit, which should be the case, Virat will automatically get picked. If Rohit decides to play T20 World Cup then he should be picked as a captain who can bat,” he added.
It must be noted that India have brought a change in captaincy in the shorter format, Hardik Pandya was captaining India’s T20I side but Suryakumar Yadav has taken the responsibility during the five-match series against Australia in the all-rounder’s absence.
It is worth mentioning that there have been reports stating that Rohit Sharma has decided to quit T20I cricket to focus on Test and ODIs.
- Gautam Gambhir