Says Rohit Sharma to lead India at 2024 T20 World Cup

NEW DELHI: BCCI secretary Jay Shah on Wednesday made it clear that India’s centrally contracted players will have to mandatorily play in the domestic red ball tournaments and the board will not tolerate any excuses.
“They have been informed on phone already and I’m going to write letters as well that if your chairman of selectors, your coach and your captain are asking for it then you will have to play red-ball cricket,” Shah said as quoted by PTI.
Shah, however, said that the players’ participation in these domestic tournaments will happen in accordance with the guidance from the national cricket academy.
“Whatever advice we get from the NCA — say suppose somebody’s body is not able to handle both white-ball and red-ball cricket — so we do not want to impose anything in that regard. (It applies to) whoever is fit and young — we are not going to tolerate any other tantrums. This message is for all centrally contracted players,” Shah said.
“Everyone will have to play, otherwise, the chairman of the selection committee has given me his suggestions and I am going to give him a free hand to let him take his own calls freely,” he added.
“If somebody is asking for a personal leave in 15 years then it is his right to ask for it. Virat is not that kind of a player that he would ask for a leave without any reason. We must back and trust our players,” he said while talking about Virat Kohli, who ha withdrawn from the ongoing series against England citing personal reasons..
But the BCCI secretary did not give any details if Kohli, like Rohit Sharma who was confirmed as the T20 captain for the upcoming World Cup, would be available for the showpiece event. “We will talk about Virat later,” Shah said.
Meanwhile, Jay Shah has announced that Rohit Sharma will captain India at the T20 World Cup 2024, with Hardik Pandya as his deputy.
This announcement was made Wednesday night during the unveiling of Niranjan Shah Stadium, formerly known as Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, ahead of the Rajkot test between England and India.
Shah expressed confidence in Sharma’s leadership, stating, “In 2023, even though we did not win the World Cup after 10 straight wins, we won hearts. I want to promise you that in 2024, under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, we will hoist the Indian flag in Barbados.”.
Shah confirmed that Rahul Dravid will continue as the coach of the Indian men’s cricket team, mentioning the ongoing series as the reason for not discussing the matter with Dravid yet.
The BCCI secretary also said that during the 2024 T20 World Cup, Pandya will continue to be the key player for the Indian team and he will be a deputy to Sharma.
With this, he also clarified that the centrally contracted players will have to play in domestic red ball cricket tournaments, and the board will not tolerate any excuses.
The United States and the West Indies will share hosting duties for the 2024 T20 World Cup, which begins on June 1st. India is grouped with Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, and the US in Group A.
India’s last ICC trophy victory came in 2013, when they defeated England in the finals of the ICC Champions Trophy in the United Kingdom. Despite consistently reaching the knockout stages, India has not managed to clinch an ICC tournament victory since then.
The 2024 T20 World Cup is scheduled from June 1 to June 29.
Agencies

Agencies