Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah on Sunday confirmed that Rohit Sharma will be leading India in the ICC Champions Trophy and the World Test Championship (WTC) final, both slated to take place in 2025. Shah’s comment came exactly a week after Rohit led the Men in Blue to a historic title win in the T20 World Cup final against South Africa in Barbados.
Speaking in a video shared by the BCCI on Sunday, Shah recalled that he had backed Rohit to help India bounce back from the heartbreaking loss in the ODI World Cup final last November to T20 World Cup glory, and seemed delighted that it came true. He, hence, remains confident that India will record a title-winning streak under Rohit with the Champions Trophy and the WTC Final coming up.
“On November 23, after winning 10 matches, we won hearts, but we were not able to win the Cup. I said in Rajkot that on June 29 that we will win hearts, win the Cup and hoist the flag in Barbados. And our captain hoisted it there,” Shah said. “After this win, the upcoming ICC events — WTC final and the Champions Trophy, I am fully confident that our team, under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, will become champions.”
Shah’s comment implies that India will be following split captaincy in international cricket until Rohit retires across formats. While the latter will continue to lead the Test and the ODI side, Hardik Pandya is likely to take over the T20I duties after Rohit announced his retirement from the format last year.
The Champions Trophy is scheduled to take place in Pakistan next year. It will mark the return to international cricket after eight years (since 2017 in the UK). Even though the draft schedule has been submitted to the ICC, where India are slated to face Pakistan in Karachi, the BCCI hasn’t yet given it its green light. The Indian board could likely, once again, push for the hybrid model, which was adapted for the Asia Cup last year.
Shah also dedicated India’s T20 World Cup title win to the three cricketers, who quit the format after the victory against South Africa last week and outgoing coach Rahul Dravid.
“I want to dedicate this victory to coach Rahul Dravid, captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja,” he said.
The three aforementioned players, presently on a break from cricket after the T20 World Cup, will likely be back in action for the ODI series against Sri Lanka slated for August. India will, overall, play six ODIs – three against Sri Lanka in an away series and three at home against England in early February before the Champions Trophy.
