Mumbai Indians' Decision Unlikely To Impact Team India As Rohit Sharma Stays First-Choice Captain for T20 World Cup: Report

Summary: Rohit Sharma has not issued an official statement regarding his T20I future, with his last appearance in the format dating back to November 2022.

Mumbai Indians have chosen Hardik Pandya as the new captain for the IPL 2024 season, ending Rohit Sharma's decade-long captaincy. This decision comes just 20 days after Hardik returned to Mumbai from Gujarat Titans, where he led them to victory in 2022 and finished as runner-up in the following year. Despite speculation about a potential shift in Team India's captaincy, a report indicates that Rohit Sharma remains the preferred captain for the T20 World Cup in June.

Hardik Pandya has informally led the Indian T20I team for over a year, given Rohit Sharma's absence from the format since November 2022. Anticipation arose for Rohit's return post the ODI World Cup, especially for the South Africa series, but he extended his T20I break. With uncertainty surrounding Rohit's T20I future, Hardik emerged as a potential captain for the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA. Despite Mumbai Indians' captaincy change, the decision's impact on BCCI's choice for the T20 World Cup remains uncertain.

According to a Dainik Jagran report, a BCCI official responded negatively when questioned about Hardik Pandya captaining the Indian team in the T20 World Cup. The official emphasized that the franchise's decision does not impact Team India, and Rohit Sharma remains the captain across all formats.

According to a source, during a recent meeting in Delhi with Team India head coach Rahul Dravid, BCCI chief selector Ajit Agarkar, and Rohit Sharma (joining virtually), Rohit expressed his desire to be confirmed as the captain for the T20 World Cup in advance. While there was a verbal agreement, an official announcement is pending with the tournament several months away. When asked about the captaincy in case both Hardik and Rohit are in the squad, the response favored the veteran opener, emphasizing Rohit's natural captaincy and clarifying that the BCCI has not removed him.

While Mumbai announced Hardik's captaincy, Rohit Sharma was attending the annual function of Dhirubhai Ambani School. His departure for South Africa is pending, where he will only participate in the two-match Test series starting on December 26.

Rohit led Mumbai Indians for ten seasons, taking over in 2013 during the season when Ricky Ponting stepped down. Under Rohit's captaincy, MI secured their first IPL title in 2013, won the Champions League T20 (now defunct), and clinched additional IPL trophies in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020.

As of now, Rohit Sharma has not issued an official statement following Mumbai Indians' decision. However, an Indian Express report on Saturday disclosed that the 36-year-old was informed about the decision before the ODI World Cup in October. This decision was conveyed through a series of meetings after Hardik set the precondition that he would return to Mumbai Indians only if confirmed as the captain.