Rohit Sharma has made it clear that he has no immediate plans to give up his T20 captaincy.

Rohit’s assertion during a media conference on the eve of the first ODI against Sri Lanka will add a fresh twist in the tale after the BCCI has already set its plans in place for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

This includes building a young vibrant side, which meets the demands of the format, under the leadership of Hardik Pandya. The seniors, including Rohit, Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, are not part of the plans and it remains to be seen how this transition is sorted out.

It is understood that the BCCI and national selectors will sit with the senior pros shortly and explain their stand formally. Rohit remains the all-format captain though Pandya has been informally handed over the reins in the shortest format.

“It was made clear in the past that it’s a 50-over World Cup year, and for some of the guys, it’s not possible to play all formats,” Rohit said in Guwahati. “If you look at the schedule, the matches are back to back. So looking at some of the players’ workloads, we wanted to give them a break. And I also fall into that category.

“We have only six T20Is, three (against Sri Lanka) are over and we have three against New Zealand. So we will look after those boys till we get to the IPL, and see what happens after that. But certainly, I have not decided to give up the format.”

India have suffered for their conservative approach in two subsequent T20 World Cups and the BCCI is adamant to go in with a bold and aggressive approach. The batters’ strike-rate has been a much talked about topic and the Board doesn’t want to repeat the same mistakes. The BCCI wants to move on from the Rohit-Kohli era.

Rohit was also diplomatic when asked about future India captains. “Abhi toh kehna mushkil hai. Sabka focus abhi ODI World Cup pe hai. (It is difficult to say right now as everyone is focused on ODI World Cup). And also we have World Test Championship matches coming up. You have to wait and watch.”

Rohit said that players who have done well in ODIs will be rewarded.

“We are very clear about giving opportunities to the guys who have done really well. That is what is going to happen as we move forward, play these six ODIs (three each versus Sri Lanka and New Zealand). The guys who are doing well will also get a lot of opportunities.

“We will have to look at who’s done well in the ODIs, and in what situation they have done well.”