Rohit Sharma could be India’s last all-format captain for a while.
This is one of the several changes the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) mandarins are looking to implement in its effort to prop up India’s performances in the World Cups.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Virat Kohli had shared the split captaincy in limited-overs cricket and Test matches, respectively, once the former gave up leadership in the longer version in 2014. Thereafter, Kohli led for two Test series once Rohit was put in charge of the T20 and ODI teams.
India’s abject surrender to England in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday has come as a rude awakening to the Roger Binny-led Board.
The BCCI brass is currently camping in Australia.
Sources told The Telegraph that Hardik Pandya is tipped to lead the T20 squad. As a first step, the all-rounder has been given the responsibility for the T20Is in New Zealand. There is no immediate threat to Rohit’s ODI captaincy till next year’s World Cup, though his decision-making in Australia earned him a lot of flak.
As a fallout, a major reshuffle in the selection committee is expected. The task ahead of the BCCI is to form the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC), which will appoint the selectors. Chief selector Chetan Sharma and Central Zone selector Harvinder Singh are expected to survive but South Zone’s Sunil Joshi is on his way out. East’s Debashish Mohanty has already completed his tenure. West’s spot has been lying unrepresented for long following the exit of Abey Kuruvilla.
Whether Sharma continues as chairman depends on the other candidates in the fray. The conflict of interest clause restricts several big names from being included in the panel but the BCCI is keen to make amends this time and include the ones well versed with the intricacies of the modern game.
The BCCI is unlikely to intervene if the new committee favours putting in place a completely new-look T20I squad. If that means keeping the likes of Rohit and Kohli out of the T20I set-up, so be it. It could come as no surprise if both decide to quit this format in the circumstances.
The BCCI also thinks that a team of T20 specialists would help in workload management of the players. Binny has already expressed concern on the recurring injuries to key players before important tournaments and this would be an ideal way to curb the seniors’ workload.
“We need to have a specialised set of players for T20Is. We should look at England and Australia. The likes of Joe Root and Steve Smith are not regulars in their teams. That is the way forward,” a senior Board official said.
India play 25 ODIs next year in the lead-up to the showpiece event and there’s enough time to rebuild the squad for the next T20 World Cup in 2024.
