Rohit Sharma To Announce T20 Retirement After World Cup, Hardik Pandya’s Inclusion Came Under BCCI Pressure – Report

New Delhi: The selection of Hardik Pandya in the Indian T20 World Cup 2024 squad came under the behest of BCCI as neither captain Rohit Sharma nor chief selector Ajit Agarkar wanted to include the all-rounder, pure due to his poor form with both ball and ball, according to reports. Based on a Dainik Jagran report, Pandya is being touted as India’s future T20I captain with Rohit likely to bid adieu to the shortest format of the game after the mega event in the USA and West Indies.

Things between Rohit and Pandya weren’t the best unlike what they show on the field while playing for Mumbai Indians in the ongoing Indian Premier League. Before the tournament started, Pandya replaced Rohit as the Mumbai Indians captain. The bitter relationship also affected Mumbai Indians; fortunes in IPL 2024 as the five-time champions became the first team to be eliminated from the playoffs race.

For the unknown, Pandya, who got injured midway in the ODI World Cup 2023, didn’t not play any cricket in the next five months before making his return in the DT Patil T20 tournament just before the start of IPL 2024.

Although Rohit desired to play for another three to four years and win a World Cup for India, the 36-year-old is likely to call it quits in the format after the T20 World Cup 2024. Under Rohit, India entered the semifinals of T20 World Cup in 2022 and also the finals of World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup last year.

Another incident that decodes the Rohit-Pandya relationship took place during Mumbai Indians’ away game against Kolkata Knight Riders last week. A day before the game, Pandya was nowhere to be seen when Rohit was practicing at the nets. After Rohit finished his batting, Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav underwent their respective drills with former skipper standing beside the ice box. Pandya came in to train when all three went inside.

With Rohit not playing any T20Is after India’s 2022 World Cup exit till the Afghanistan series ear;ier this year, Pandya managed the captaincy duties for the national team. It was believed that Pandya will fully take over the reins of the Indian T20I side but that theory got quashed when BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced Rohit as the captain of the side for the T20 World Cup 2024.