Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya. (Photo Source: Twitter)
In a major move ahead of the IPL 2024 auction, five-time champions Mumbai Indians appointed Hardik Pandya as their captain for the next edition replacing Rohit Sharma. Notably, Pandya was recently traded from Gujarat Titans for INR 15 Crore along with an undisclosed transfer fee. Ever since, his appointment as MI captain, widespread rumours have stated that the all-rounder will also captain the Indian team in the T20 World Cup 2024 instead of Sharma.
However, according to reports, a BCCI official denied any such claim saying that the decision of an IPL franchise will not impact the captaincy choices of the team management. Notably, Sharma hasn’t played a T20I since India’s humiliating 10-wicket loss against England in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022.
Despite that, a report in Dainik Jagran claims that in the recent meeting with BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar and head coach Rahul Dravid in Delhi, Sharma expressed his wish to be confirmed as India’s captain for the T20 World Cup from now itself. The report further reveals that the BCCI source clearly stated the board is in favour of naming Sharma as captain if both he and Pandya are part of the squad.
Ever since the T20 World Cup 2022, Pandya has been leading the T20I side with senior pros Sharma and Kohli not playing the shortest format. However, due to his unavailability in the last two series as he’s down ankle injury, Suryakumar Yadav led the side against Australia and South Africa.
Dropping Rohit and Kohli for T20 World Cup 2024 will be a big call
Also Read: Reports: Hardik Pandya agreed to come to MI only as captain, Rohit Sharma was informed during World Cup
Meanwhile, some experts has suggested playing only youngsters playing in the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 without Sharma and Kohli. Notably, the Indian skipper has played all the editions of the T20 World Cup till now since the first edition in 2007. On the other hand, Kohli is the leading run-scorer in T20I World Cup (1141 runs) and T20Is (4008 runs) as well. Hence, benching both the experienced players will be a huge call for India heading into the tournament.