NEW DELHI: After being crowned as the T20 World Cup champions, India have their eyes set on next year’s ICC Champions Trophy and the World Test Championship final, the country’s cricket board’s secretary Jay Shah has said.

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held in Pakistan in February and according to the draft schedule of the tournament, India are slated to play all their matches in Lahore.

“The way this team is progressing, our target is to win World Test Championship final and Champions Trophy,” Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Shah told Press Trust of India news agency on Monday. “There will be a similar squad playing there. The seniors will be there,”

Political tensions between India and Pakistan have kept their cricket teams from playing bilateral series against each other since they last met for three One-day Internationals at the former’s home soil in 2012.

Both sides, however, play against each other in International Cricket Council tournaments and Pakistan visited India for the 50-over World Cup across the border last year.

It is yet to be confirmed if India will do vice versa come the Champions Trophy. If they do, Shah’s comments could mean a full-fledge India side, including stars Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, would possibly play for the first time in Pakistan.

RETURN DELAYED

India will also name their new coach after the World Cup-winning team makes its triumphant return from the Caribbean — but it is unclear when that will be because of a hurricane.

The frontrunner appears to be Gautam Gambhir, 42, a former batsman who scored over 10,000 international runs across three formats. He most recently coached Kolkata Knight Riders to the IPL crown.

Indian media reported Monday the other man in the running to replace Rahul Dravid is W.V. Raman, 59, also an ex-Indian cricketer, and former coach of the national women’s team.

Shah said the two candidates had been “interviewed and shortlisted” by the board’s Cricket Advisory Committee.

“After reaching Mumbai, whatever they have decided, we will go by that,” Shah said.

Shah spoke in Barbados, where he told Indian reporters the team were stranded because flights were delayed by Hurricane Beryl.

“Like you we are also stuck,” he told reporters.

India won a thrilling final by seven runs against South Africa in Barbados on Saturday to clinch their first global tournament since the 2013 Champions Trophy.

‘DREAM COME TRUE’

World Cup-winning skipper Sharma said his team’s victory was a “dream come true” for India, as he awaited his return home to a hero’s welcome.

The triumph ended more than a decade of heartache after India’s previous World Cup win came in the 50-over version in 2011.

“The team and I are very proud to be able to bring the cup home and are truly touched by how much happiness it has brought everyone back home,” Indian captain Rohit Sharma said in a post on social media on Monday.

He also posted a picture of himself lying flat on his back with his eyes closed, wearing his blue team kit.

“This picture epitomises how I’m feeling right now,” he said. “Right now I’m basking in a dream come true for a billion of us.”

The T20 World Cup final was the final match in charge for former skipper Dravid, 51, who was bounced in the air by the team during the celebrations.

Former batsman V.V.S. Laxman will coach the team for their tour of Zimbabwe for five T20 internationals from July 6-14, Shah said.

The new coach will take over for India’s tour of Sri Lanka, made up of three T20s and three ODIs, which begins on July 27.

Published in Dawn, July 2nd, 2024