RAJKOT: Rohit Sharma will captain India at this year’s Twenty20 World Cup in the United States and West Indies, a top official of the country’s cricket board said.

Sharma led India to the final at last year’s 50-over World Cup at home where they lost to Australia. India have not won a global title since the 2013 Champions Trophy.

“In the 2023 (final) at Ahmedabad, even though we did not win the World Cup after 10 straight wins, we won hearts,” said Jay Shah, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), at a function to rename the Rajkot stadium late Wednesday.

“I want to promise you that in 2024 in Barbados we will lift the trophy under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy,” he added.

Sharma recently retu­rned to captain India in the Twenty20 format after more than a year’s absence in the shorter version.

The ground was renamed the Niranjan Shah Cricket Stadium, in honour of a former BCCI secretary, ahead of the third Test against England starting Thursday. It was previously called the Saurashtra Cricket Asso­ciation Stadium.

Published in Dawn, February 16th, 2024