Not Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya; Suryakumar Yadav Likely to Lead India’s T20 Team During South Africa Tour – REPORT

Mumbai: The Board of Control of Cricket in India is likely to announce the squads for the tour of South Africa soon. With the first T20I set to be played at Durban on December 10, the selectors would be worried over who will lead the side. With uncertainty hovering around Rohit Sharma’s availability, and Hardik Pandya not fit; it looks like Suryakumar Yadav will continue to lead the T20 side in South Africa. Some reports also claim that the management is going to try their best to convince Rohit, but at the moment – it seems – Surya will be the one.

“Yes, there remains a question what happens when Hardik comes back but in BCCI, they feel that if Rohit agrees to lead in T20Is, he will lead in the T20 World Cup. In case Rohit doesn’t agree then Surya continues as captain for T20Is in South Africa,” a BCCI source privy to the development told PTI on the condition of anonymity.

“The BCCI has always given preference to that particular white ball format which has a global tournament in next six months. ODIs post World Cup is third priority and three ODIs is a lot. Hence if Rohit leads in T20Is, he might take rest to freshen up for Tests. It will be decided by sports science team,” the source said.

One thing is for sure, the focus for most international teams has now shifted to T20Is after the completion of the ODI WC. The T20 WC takes place in June and hence teams would look to get their teams in place before the mega-event. And hence, all T20 matches would be crucial.