Rohit recently led India to a T20 World Cup title after the Men in Blue beat South Africa in the final of the tournament in Barbados.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah confirmed that Rohit Sharma will continue leading the Indian team for the Champions Trophy and the World Test Championship (WTC) final, if the team makes the cut.

“After the T20 World Cup win, the next target is to win the WTC final and the Champions Trophy. I have full confidence that under the leadership of Rohit Sharma, we will be champions in both the tournaments,” Shah said in a video message.

Last week in Barbados, India ended its 11-year ICC title drought with a seven-run win over South Africa in the T20 World Cup final, under the leadership of Rohit. However, having guided the team to its second T20 World Cup title since the inaugural edition in 2007, Rohit, Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja announced retirement from T20Is soon after the final.

While Shah dedicated the title to outgoing head coach Rahul Dravid and to the trio, he also lauded the efforts of youngsters Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh and Suryakumar Yadav for their clinical efforts during the last five overs of the final, where India made a strong comeback.

“This was our third final within a year. On June 11 last year, we lost the WTC final. On November 19, after winning 10 matches, we won hearts but failed to win the ODI World Cup. But as I had said earlier this year in Rajkot, India proceeded to win hearts and the World Cup under Rohit’s leadership,” Shah added.

Rohit will turn 38 next year, but the Board believes in continuity rather than too much of chopping and changing. However, Hardik Pandya is expected to take over as the captain in the T20Is and a new coach is set to take charge from the tour of Sri Lanka, later this month.

The Champions Trophy is slated to be held in Pakistan in February-March next year, even though it needs to be seen whether the Indian team travels to the neighbouring country.

As far as the WTC is concerned, India is on course to make the final as it is currently atop the points table, with Australia second in the standings. Rohit’s team will feature in three more Test series – against Bangladesh, New Zealand and Australia – and will be hoping to make its third successive final of the tournament.

In 2021, it lost the WTC final against New Zealand, while last year, Australia defeated it in the summit clash. (sportstar)