BCCI to discuss with Rohit Sharma on his white-ball cricket plans - Reports
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will discuss with skipper Rohit Sharma and chief selector Ajit Agarkar to come up with the framework for the next four years across formats.
India had a dominant run at the ODI World Cup, winning all 10 games, until the heartbreak in the final against Australia. According to TOI reports, the central point of discussion will be around Rohit's future in white-ball cricket and grooming the future captain.
At 36, the skipper enjoyed a spectacular 2023 World Cup campaign with the bat, scoring 597 runs at an average of 54.27 and a 125.94 strike rate.
According to the TOI sources, Rohit has already communicated to the selectors his consent to not being considered for T20Is. He last played T20Is for India in their semi-final defeat to England at the T20 World Cup last year.
However, Rohit's ODI future holds much doubt, considering he will be 40 by the time of the next World Cup in South Africa in 2027.
"Before the ODI World Cup, Rohit had communicated that he is fine not being considered for T20Is," TOI quoted a source as saying. "The selectors have been investing heavily in youth in T20Is for the last one year. With the T20 World Cup happening in June next year, they are reluctant to deviate from that strategy."
"As of now, it seems Rohit will focussing a lot of his energy on the Test format for the next cycle of World Test Championship which runs until 2025," the report added. "Grooming a captain for the longer formats is a key part of the agenda. With Hardik Pandya prone to injury, selectors may look for options in ODIs."
The next major ODI tournament will be the 2025 Champions Trophy in Pakistan, and Team India will play only six ODIs in the next year. Yet, the report confirmed that the board and selectors will plan for ODIs only after IPL 2024 and the T20 World Cup next year.
Ajinkya Rahane likely to be dropped from Test side - Reports
Sources also learned that the selectors are not keen on retaining veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane for the Test series in South Africa in December.
Rahane returned to the Indian Test side after a year and a half in the WTC final against Australia. While he impressed with scores of 89 and 46 in that game, Rahane combined for only 11 runs in the two innings in West Indies that followed.
"The selection committee is very clear that it wants to groom players who will play together for a longer period of time," the source stated. "With Shreyas Iyer coming back into the Test reckoning and Shubman Gill batting at No.3, there is little scope for Rahane. KL Rahul too could be considered for the Test matches as he could be a backup wicket-keeping option."
Team India will play three T20Is and as many ODIs in South Africa before the two Tests, starting on December 10.
Before that, the Men in Blue led by Suryakumar Yadav, will play five T20Is at home against Australia, starting on Thursday, November 23.