File photo of Hardik Pandya© ANI
India’s Cricket World Cup 2023 heartbreak hasn’t yet fully healed, with the likes of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli yet to make a public appearance since the team’s defeat in the final to Australia. However, the Indian cricket team has moved on and is already looking to prepare for the T20 World Cup 2024, with Suryakumar Yadav leading a young brigade against Australia in a 5-match assignment. When it comes to next year’s T20 World Cup, talks around India’s captaincy choice are already buzzing, with Hardik Pandya emerging as the leading candidate. However, former India pacer Zaheer Khan feels it would be Rohit Sharma that the team management goes ahead with as far as captaincy choice for the marquee event is concerned.
“Well, because the T20 World Cup is just around the corner and there is not a lot of time, you have to go in with experience. You will have to give that preference to the experienced guy, and I will not be surprised if they decide to go ahead with Rohit Sharma himself,” Zaheer told Cricbuzz.
Rohit has already led the Indian team in a T20 World Cup and an ODI World Cup, but hasn’t managed to take the team all the way in either. Zaheer, however, is certain that Rohit is the right choice for the next T20 World Cup despite the fact that he hasn’t played a T20 international game for a year.
“He’s the guy who has been around for a while. He understands handling situations, handling pressure, and all those kinds of aspects. You still have time for all these other names that are on that list to take the mantle forward. It’s just around six months (for the World Cup to begin). You have a big tournament like the IPL in between, which will give them enough time to prepare. So, it’s either going to be Rohit Sharma or, depending on how Hardik goes about his rehab, his comeback. The challenge is that he’s not going to be playing that many games,” he added.
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