Former attacking Indian opener Kris Srikkanth feels all signs suggest that Rohit Sharma will lead in the T20 World Cup. Rohit has been named the captain of the three-match T20I series against Afghanistan.
Rohit recently led India to the ODI World Cup 2023 final, but the team could not cross the last hurdle against Australia. Meanwhile, Rohit had last played in the T20I format in the semifinal of the 2022 T20 World Cup and thus there were doubts over his selection for the upcoming T20I showpiece.
Rohit has all the experience under his belt and had delivered in the ODI World Cup at the top of the order with his aggressive batting.
Kris Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel, “All signs suggest that Rohit Sharma is going to lead India in T20 World Cup. That’s how it’s going. The very fact that he is made captain now, yes, Hardik Pandya is injured, and Suryakumar Yadav, who was the deputy, is also not available due to injury. Jasprit Bumrah is also not there. Obviously, Rohit Sharma will be the captain.”
“See, Mumbai Indians making Hardik Pandya captain is the franchise’s choice. From the team selection, Rohit Sharma will only captain India in T20 World Cup in all probability. It’s moving toward that,” he added.
Rohit Sharma has won 39 T20I matches out of the 51 games he has led in. Meanwhile, with Mumbai Indians making Hardik Pandya their new captain, Srikkanth feels Rohit Sharma will play with total freedom in the IPL like he did in the ODI World Cup.
“Rohit will play with total freedom in the IPL. He will play attacking cricket, like he did in the World Cup. The wound of losing the World Cup is not over for him. If India had beaten Australia on November 19, things would have been different,” Srikkanth said.
“He now wants to win a World Cup as a captain,” he continued. “A T20 World Cup is a World Cup at the end of the day. He would love to achieve it. Yes, 50-over World Cup is considered big, but if you win a T20 World Cup, you are still a World Cup-winning captain.
“At the end of the day, he wants to prove a point to himself. He seems to be determined to win a World Cup as captain.”
India and Afghanistan will play the first T20I at Mohali on 11th January.
