As the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee of the BCCI scratch their head over picking the squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Afghanistan, the biggest question, that surrounds India’s build-up to the 2024 T20 World Cup in June, remains as who will eventually lead the side in the ICC event. While the squad for the Afghanistan contest is unlikely to resolve the long-standing matter, the chief selector is expected to clear the air on it. As the wait continues, a particular poster on the T20 World Cup sparked a furore on social media among the avid followers of the Indian cricket team.
On Friday, ICC revealed the fixtures for the 2024 T20 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States of America and the West Indies, and will be held from June 1 to 29. India will begin their campaign against Ireland on June 5 in New York before taking on Pakistan in a blockbuster clash at the same venue. India also have hosts USA and Canada in the same group.
Following the big announcement, Star Sports, the official broadcaster of the ICC event, released a poster on the India-Pakistan clash. The picture had the image of Shaheen Afridi, the newly-announced captain of Pakistan, and Hardik represented India.
The poster immediately sparked confusion on social media about whether the post confirmed what the eventual announcement would be, whether Rohit has been replaced by the all-rounder for the T20I leadership role, although Hardik has been unofficially has been captaining the side in the former’s absence from the format since 2022 T20 World Cup.
Here are some of the posts…
Ideally, there wouldn’t have been a discussion over India’s T20I captaincy with Rohit still the official leader in the format. But the veteran opener has been out of action in T20Is since November 2022, when India suffered a semifinal exit against England in Australia. While Rohit, along with Virat Kohli, chose to focus on the ODIs with the 50-over World Cup in 2023, the two did not return after the tournament ended in November. They missed the five-match series against Australia at home and the three-match contest in South Africa. Suryakumar Yadav had led the side in his stead with Hardik out with an ankle injury.
It remains to be seen whether Kohli and Rohit will be picked for the Afghanistan series although it has been reported earlier that they are both keen to play in the T20 World Cup in June.
