Rohit Sharma or Hardik Pandya? India face key decision in picking T20I leader with T20 World Cup in mind

With the World Cup done and dusted, Indian cricket is faced with its latest conundrum — that of making up their mind on who the captain in the shortest format should be with next year’s T20 World Cup in mind.

BCCI secretary Jay Shah recently held discussions with the Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel on the roadmap for next year’s T20 World Cup as well as the possibility of asking Rohit Sharma to lead India in the T20I leg of the tour of South Africa.

Rohit has not played a T20I since the lopsided semi-final defeat against England in last year’s T20 World Cup in Australia, with all-rounder Hardik Pandya having taken up that role since.

And it’s not just Rohit who has stepped away from the shortest format since the T20 World Cup; Virat Kohli, too, hasn’t made a T20I appearance since the semi-final defeat, making it appear as if the Men in Blue had moved on from the two stalwarts in that particular format.

Thursday’s announcement from BCCI will be crucial as it could possibly end all debates surrounding leadership in the white-ball formats and also decide the route that the Men in Blue take in T20Is.

Why BCCI wants Rohit back

It’s not rocket science to understand why the burden of leadership fell on Pandya in the first place last year. The superstars that they are, Rohit and Kohli’s approach in the shortest format had come under the scanner, and they often faced criticism for their tendency to build an innings and taking their time to accelerate.

Read | IPL performances will determine Rohit and Kohli’s T20I future, feels Pietersen

With the two seniors stepping away from the T20I team, reportedly off their own free will, the BCCI would have shifted their focus to Hardik Pandya, who until now has been seen as the natural successor to Rohit.

The fact that Pandya led Gujarat Titans to the Indian Premier League title in the franchise’s debut along with a runner-up finish the following season further bolstered his credentials as the individual who can fill in the void once Rohit relinquishes captaincy.

The BCCI had experimented with various captains since Kohli decided to step down as leader in all three formats in the 2021-2022 season, with the likes of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant getting an assignment each. None, however, have looked as convincing as Pandya, who has won three out of the four series’ that he’s featured in as captain.

The way Rohit led India in the recently-concluded ICC World Cup, however, will have changed the BCCI’s perspective a bit.

The ‘Hitman’ was at his absolute best both as a leader and as captain in the 13th edition of the showpiece event. Not only did he finish with 597 runs, nearly becoming the first in World Cup history to score 600+ runs in back-to-back editions, India were also streets ahead of other teams under his leadership.

The Men in Blue would storm into the knockouts with nine wins in as many outings before outplaying New Zealand in the semi-final in Mumbai, only to suffer a heart-breaking defeat against Australia in the final in Ahmedabad. The defeat however, did not take anything away from the fact that the Men in Blue hadn’t looked this dominant in recent memory.

The team also appeared in great spirits throughout the tournament, which could be attributed to Rohit’s ability to bring the team together, as he has done for years with the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

With India having not won an ICC trophy for more than a decade now, finishing runners-up on four occasions, the BCCI might think Rohit’s their best bet at ending that drought in next year’s T20 World Cup that will be jointly hosted by the West Indies and the USA.

Read | Final frontier in SA and other challenges that lie ahead for coach Dravid

The fact that they’ve extended Rahul Dravid and the rest of the support staff’s contracts lends further credibility to the notion that the BCCI wants a sense of continuity for a little while longer before making a long-term decision.

Can SKY takeover at this point?

Should Rohit opt away from T20I leadership however, the decision of which will be made public on Thursday evening, T20I vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav will be entrusted with leading India in the South Africa T20Is with Rohit continuing in his role as ODI and Test leader.

Pandya’s ankle injury from the World Cup has not only ruled him out of the ongoing T20I series against Australia, it has also made him highly unlikely for the tour of South Africa.

And though SKY has done a fairly commendable job leading from the front in the T20I series against Australia, where India went two-zip up before suffering a last-ball defeat on Tuesday, his captaincy will likely be considered temporary, which will be handed back to Pandya once he’s fit and raring to go.

There could be a sense of continuity in that decision as well given Pandya’s had a role in shaping the T20I side for a while now and changing things up months before the World Cup might be something of a big gamble.

And if that indeed is the case, it could signal the beginning of a transition where Pandya leads in T20Is for now and eventually takes over the reins in the ODI format as well, thus signalling the transition in Indian cricket.