Rohit Sharma to lead India at 2024 T20 World Cup

Rohit Sharma will lead India a the 2024 T20 World Cup. BCCI secretary Jay Shah said as much today, while speaking to the media at an event in Rajkot.

This will be the second time Rohit leads India at a T20 World Cup, having done it in 2022 as well. In that tournament, played in Australia, India lost the semi-final to eventual champions England. Rohit did not feature in T20Is after that, not playing a single T20I in 2023. But he was called back in January 2024, to lead India against Afghanistan in January. That move from the selectors seemed to signal Rohit was all but certain to lead at the World Cup, which will be played in the USA and West Indies in June. Shah, today, confirmed the same.

"The fact that he was returning after a year to lead in the Afghanistan series recently meant he was obviously going to [lead in the T20 World Cup]," Shah said at an event to rename the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium the Niranjan Shah Cricket Stadium.

Under Rohit, India lost last year's ODI World Cup final at home, and days later Suryakumar Yadav was leading the T20I side against Australia. Suryakumar also led India in the shortest format in South Africa in December, and Mumbai Indians announced that Hardik Pandya would be taking over captaincy of the franchise from Rohit. Then, Rohit made his comeback against Afghanistan in January. After bagging ducks in the first two matches, he scored a record 121 not out - his fifth ton in the format - in the third T20I.