'Still Fresh in Our Memory': Sourav Ganguly Says Rohit Sharma 'Best Choice' to Captain India at T20 World Cup

Last week, BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced that India will be captained by Rohit Sharma at the upcoming ICC Men’s T20 World Cup slated to be held in June. Shah reasoned that with Hardik Pandya injured, there weren’t many options available while also pointing out Rohit’s performances as captain at the ODI World Cup last year and his scintillating hundred during a T20I against Afghanistan last month.

Batting legend and former India captain Sourav Ganguly agrees with the decision and terms Rohit as the ‘best choice’.

“Rohit Sharma is the right choice as India captain for the T20 World Cup. The way he led the Indian team and won 10 matches in the 50-over World Cup is still fresh in our memory. So, Rohit was the best choice,” Ganguly told mid-day.

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Rohit has a stellar record as T20I captain. He’s led India in 54 games, overseeing victories in 42 of them while losing just 12.

The T20 World Cup will be co-hosted by the West Indies and the USA with India hoping to win the title for the first time since 2007.

Shah was confident India will lift the trophy this time around under Rohit’s captaincy.

“We may have lost the final of the 2023 ODI World Cup. But we won hearts there by winning 10 matches in a row. I would like to say that I am confident that India will lift the 2024 T20 World Cup under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy at Barbados,” Shah said during an event at the Niranjan Shah Stadium in Rajkot last week.

“Rohit was captaining (in the past and in other formats) and he came back for the Afghanistan series after a year, which means we were going to let him continue forward,” he added.

Pandya may not be the captain but he’ll be the deputy to Rohit.

“Hardik Pandya will definitely be the vice-captain. When Hardik was injured in the World Cup, who else can we give the captaincy? In the third T20I against Afghanistan, India were 22/4 and the way Rohit Sharma took the team to 212/4, we can’t question much about him, right? He has the ability, as I said, we won ten games in the ODI World Cup. We didn’t win the final, but it’s part and parcel of the game. Whoever plays better, wins,” Shah said.