India's captain for the Twenty20 World Cup in June will be Rohit Sharma, Jay Shah said in Rajkot on Thursday. The deputy captain will be Hardik Pandya.
Days of speculation over who will head the international tournament in the US and the Caribbean have come to an end with the declaration made by the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
"Rohit is an all-format captain at this time. The selectors have reached a unanimous consensus about the problem. Hardik Pandya will continue to lead the T20 World Cup as vice captain. Imagine if Hardik sustains an injury, as he did at the last World Cup. Who should we give the reins of leadership to in such a situation?" Shah said.
He went on, "If you remember the Afghanistan T20I match, we were down 27 for 4, but Rohit's incredible century turned the tide of the match." We cannot doubt his skills. In the World Cup, we won 10 straight games, but we lost the championship match. It's all part and piece of the game," Shah said again, restating his prior comments made at the event.
"I have not spoken anything on the 2023 World Cup, when we were defeated in Ahmedabad. At the event when the Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium was renamed the Niranjan Shah Stadium, Shah confidently said, "But I can assure you that India will win the T20 World Cup in Barbados on June 29 under Rohit Sharma's captaincy." Along with Rohit were head coach Rahul Dravid and a few players from the Indian squad.
Shah made his declaration the day before the third Test between India and England gets underway in Rajkot. India hopes to seize the initiative in this hotly fought series thus far.
Particularly after taking over for Rohit Sharma as the Mumbai Indians captain, Pandya became a serious candidate for the job. But Shah's remarks put a stop to any conjecture.
Shah also made it clear that he will write the players inviting them to play cricket in the country. In an effort to stay healthy for the impending Indian Premier League (IPL), a few of the nation's best athletes have reportedly been avoiding participating in Ranji Trophy games. "This is a serious problem. Tomorrow, I shall write to each and every player. You have to follow the instructions of your coach and captain and play red-ball cricket. All players who are not enrolled in the National Cricket Academy (NCA) must follow this instruction. We will take steps to prevent injured players from playing red-ball cricket and risking worsening their ailments, which might affect their prospects of playing white-ball cricket. But this instruction is for all young, healthy athletes as well," Shah said.
But the BCCI secretary refrained from naming specific players, even Ishan Kishan, who has been concentrating on getting ready for the IPL. "He's only a kid, so don't even bring up his name. All players are subject to this order, including those who are under contract. All players will be compelled to play domestic cricket moving forward."
According to Shah, the board has just released an advertisement for a new selector, who will be named soon. He said that the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) will make the decision when asked explicitly if the next selector would come from the North Zone. "The Test series team has been selected. There won't be any overseas assignments after this. The Indian Premier League exists. However, we will complete the procedure as quickly as possible," he declared.
Virat Kohli, who is skipping the current England series for personal reasons, has Shah's full support as well. "Virat is not the problem. In a 15-year cricket career, it is a player's prerogative to request a leave of absence for a single series. A player like Virat would never take a break without a good cause. Our athletes need our support and confidence," the BCCI representative stated.
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