Rohit Sharma Retirement: India Cricket Overhaul – Team India captain Rohit Sharma is all set to call time on his career following the 2023 World Cup. It is believed that Rohit, now 35, will quit one or two formats to prolong his career. The Indian cricket board meanwhile are preparing for such an event, with KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya primed to take over. Follow IND vs NZ LIVE & India Cricket LIVE Updates on InsideSport.IN.
“Of course, there is always a succession plan. But it’s not the time to talk about future captaincy. Rohit is our captain and anything after that will be discussed after World Cup. Rohit may take a call on his future after the World Cup. Hardik has been given the vice-captaincy of ODIs with the idea that he can take charge in future,” a senior BCCI official told InsideSport.
Rohit Sharma Retirement: India captain likely to retire from ODIs after World Cup 2023, Hardik Pandya & KL Rahul to share split captaincy, Follow India Cricket LIVE Updates
India Test Captaincy: BCCI isn’t totally convinced on KL Rahul as the next Test captain. However, he is the best option along with Rishabh Pant. But with Rishabh Pant set for a lengthy period on the sidelines, KL Rahul looks set to take over Test captaincy. InsideSport earlier reported that BCCI will sit with Rohit Sharma, Rahul Dravid and the selection committee on Rohit’s future after the World Cup.
Rohit is already 36 and with the history of injuries, it is unlikely he will continue post WC. If India win the World Cup, it is likely that he will announce his retirement right away.
The other candidate to succeed Rohit in Test was Jasprit Bumrah. But he is at the crossroads yet again. With another injury layoff, Bumrah hasn’t earned himself any favour. Apart from that, he is an all-format player and the selectors don’t want to put too much pressure on him.
“KL Rahul is the vice-captain in Tests and by that, you can understand the succession plan. Pujara and Rishabh are both there. So, there is no dearth of options in vice-captaincy. But we will cross the bridge when we get there,” the BCCI official said.
India Cricket Overhaul after World Cup?
- The overhaul is underway, albeit silently.
- BCCI has moved Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and all senior players away from T20s to focus on ODIs and Tests.
- With World Cup 2023, one cycle will end.
- As Rohit will turn 36 by then, he will be in the twilight of cricketing career.
- Rohit is likely to take a call on his career and could vacate his spot in the ODI team.
- Hence, BCCI will have to look for options.
- Hardik Pandya is back to his peak fitness and in him, India have found a real option for white-ball captaincy.
- Instead of one captain for all formats, BCCI is going back to the split captaincy option that existed before Virat Kohli took charge.
- Even though selectors did not agree at that time, scheduling and workload management have made it almost impossible for a player to play all three formats with the same intensity.
- As Hardik has already taken charge of the T20 team, he will succeed Rohit Sharma in ODIs.
Rohit Sharma Retirement: India captain likely to retire from ODIs after World Cup 2023, Hardik Pandya & KL Rahul to share split captaincy, Follow India Cricket LIVE Updates
No Rohit Sharma in T20s: As things stand, Rohit Sharma has already played his last T20 for India in T20 WC. The selectors don’t foresee Rohit in T20s along with other senior players including Virat Kohli.
While BCCI hasn’t made an official announcement regarding a change in T20 captaincy, broadcasters and people in the BCCI are already clear on who is India’s captain in the shortest format. The selection committee has already sent a message, promoting Hardik as the vice-captain, dropping KL Rahul following a string of poor shows.
“Hardik is doing well as captain. He is young and will only get better. For now, there is no better option than him to look at post-Rohit. He must be backed and given a long and consistent rope,” the official said.
Rohit Sharma Retirement: India captain likely to retire from ODIs after World Cup 2023, Hardik Pandya & KL Rahul to share split captaincy, Follow India Cricket LIVE Updates
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