The Indian cricket team management has its eyes set on the future and among its first steps to build a pool of players for the next T20 World Cup, the BCCI could take a major call including appointment of a new captain and phasing out the senior players.
Reports have emerged that the BCCI could soon call up a meeting with the current India T20I captain Rohit Sharma, head coach Rahul Dravid and senior batter Virat Kohli to discuss the future course of action as far as the shortest format is concerned. The discussion, if and when it happens, is likely to revolve around the next T20 World Cup set to be held in 2024.
Though there’s no confirmation, it’s being speculated that allrounder Hardik Pandya could be handed over the rein of the T20I side with Rohit leading the ODI and the Test teams.
It’s also possible that Dravid, who is in charge of all three formats like Rohit, could have his workload shared by a specialist coach for the T20I side.
India yet again return emptyhanded from an ICC tournament as they lost to England by 10 wickets in the semifinal of the T20 World Cup earlier this month.
Soon after the exit, news agency PTI quoted an unnamed BCCI source as saying that the senior players in the team will now only be focused on Tests and ODIs and in the handful of T20I matches India are slated to play next year, youngsters will be given the preference.
“The BCCI never asks anyone to retire. It is an individual decision. But yes, with just a handful of T20Is scheduled in 2023, most of the seniors will concentrate on ODIs and Test matches in that cycle,” the BCCI source was quoted as saying.
“You don’t need to announce retirement if you don’t want to. You will not see most of the seniors playing T20 next year,” the source added.
The official line though is that the team is not willing to publicly discuss the succession plan, yet. “It’s too early to talk about it right now just after a semi-final game. These guys have been terrific performers for us. Like you said, we have a couple of years to reflect on it,” Dravid had said after the semifinal loss.
