Indian cricket supporters had a moment of bittersweet joy upon the Men in Blue's 13-year reign as world champions. Virat Kohli was the first to declare his retirement from Twenty20 international cricket. Next was Rohit Sharma, the captain. Even Ravindra Jadeja gave up playing Twenty20 cricket after that. There have been rumours that the team's senior players will henceforth just concentrate on red-ball cricket.
However, Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), has guaranteed that 'seniors will be there' in the Champions Trophy 2025 and, should India qualify, the World Test Championship final.
In February and March 2025, Pakistan will host the Champions Trophy, the ICC's One-Day International competition, while Lord's will host the World Test Championship final in June of the same year. India is now atop the Test standings with 68.52% of the total points.
'Three greats have already retired, indicating a transition. With the way this squad is playing, we want to take home the Champions Trophy and win the World Test Championship. There will be a comparable team participating. The elders will be present,' Shah reportedly stated on July 1 in Bridgetown, Barbados, according to PTI.
Shah said that the selection committee will decide whether to choose Hardik Pandya as India's next Twenty20 international captain in place of Rohit Sharma.
'The selectors will choose the captain, and we will announce it following a discussion with them. You inquired about Hardik; there were many doubts regarding his form, but we and the selectors had trust in him, and he demonstrated his abilities,' he said.
Only three players from India's T20 World Cup-winning squad will go with the side to Zimbabwe, according to Shah. Remarkably, none of the three players—Yashvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, and Sanju Samson—were able to represent India in any World Cup games.
'I would like India to take home every crown. With just three players from this team heading to Zimbabwe, we have the strongest bench. If necessary, we can deploy three squads', Shah stated.
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