Jay Shah refuses to give clarity on Rohit Sharma's return as India T20I captain

Amid reports that BCCI wants Rohit Sharma to captain India in the T20 World Cup 2024 in June, the secretary general of the cricket board, Jay Shah, on Saturday refused to give clarity on who will be the Men in Blue’s skipper during the ICC event. On the sidelines of the WPL auction in Mumbai, Shah said that there was no need for clarity right now, as there’s still some time to go for the T20 World Cup. “What is the need to have clarity right now? It (T20 World Cup) is starting in June, we have the IPL before that and the series against Afghanistan," Shah said. Rohit has not played for India in T20Is since the semi-final defeat to England in the 2022 T20 World Cup. Hardik Pandya led India in the majority of the matches before suffering an ankle injury in the ODI World Cup in November 2023. Currently, Suryumar Yadav is leading India who defeated Australia 4-1 in T20Is at home and will now take on South frica from 10 December in a three-match series. Amid speculations over his spot in the T20I squad, Dainik Jagran recently reported that BCCI wants Rohit to lead India in the T20 World Cup 2024 . Shah meanwhile added that Hardik, who is another candidate for the captaincy, could return to action during the T20I series against Afghanistan in January. “We are monitoring him on a day-to-day basis. He is at the NCA and working very hard. He could be fit before the Afghanistan series also,” said Shah. The BCCI secretary also provided clarity on head coach Rahul Darvid’s contract situation. The cricket body has extended Dravid’s contract, which ended after the ODI World Cup, but the tenure of the new contract is still not decided. “We have given the extension but are yet to finalise the contract. We did not get time at all. They finished (with the World Cup), I had a meeting with them (Dravid and support staff) and we agreed mutually that they will continue. We will sit down and decide once they return from South Africa,” Shah said.