As far as captaincy is concerned, Rohit Sharma is the best leader you have: Irfan Pathan

Rohit Sharma. (Photo Source: BCCI)

Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan reckons that Rohit Sharma is currently the best individual to lead the team into the 2024 T20 World Cup, which is set to be played in the USA and West Indies in June. India named their 15-member squad on April 30, with Rohit Sharma set to lead the team at another multi-team ICC event after the heartbreaking defeat to Australia in the ODI World Cup at home. 

While there have been concerns over his form in the shortest format, Pathan backed Rohit, the leader, stating that the team cannot look beyond him at the moment. He threw few options who could be future contenders as far as leading the Indian team goes, but suggested “Rohit is the number one”.

“As far as captaincy is concerned, he is the best leader you have. We always talk about the players, but leadership is a totally different thing. We saw what happened in this IPL with quite a few captains; it’s not easy. Captaining a side in cricket still holds great value and this is why we always talk highly about Mahendra Singh Dhoni. He has been rated highly by the entire world for the reason that it’s such a tough job, and he made it very simple,” Pathan said on Star Sports Press Room.

“And after Mahendra Singh Dhoni, when test matches came, Virat was your best captain ever, the way he took the team in front. So, the leadership was there for the world to see how he was making an impact in test cricket. But when it comes to recent white ball cricket, you can’t look beyond Rohit Sharma. He is your best leader, even with the bench strength considered,” he added.

“In the future, they will be keeping an eye on Suryakumar Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah as far as captaincy is concerned. Now we have Hardik Pandya as the Vice Captain, Rishabh Pant is also there in your leadership role group if he gets going because he was there in the leadership role before he got injured. So, there are three or four guys who are ready, but Rohit is the number one.”

Irfan Pathan also stated the major competition and threats that India will face in the T20 World Cup, naming England and Australia as the biggest ones. The 39-year-old also cautioned Rohit Sharma and Co. to be wary of arch-rivals Pakistan and hosts West Indies as both the teams have an ability to spring a surprise in cricket’s most unpredictable format.

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“A team like England poses a big threat. A team like Australia might have proper planning as we have seen in the 50-over World Cup. They can pose a threat as well, especially with the squad they have gathered. They have a lot of all-rounders, as far as spinning all-rounders are concerned because the pitches will be slow, there are a lot of spinning options they can have, [Adam] Zampa, [Glenn] Maxwell can bowl as well. [Ashton] Agar can bowl as well if he comes in to the squad.

“So, these two teams and we also might find stiff competition from Pakistan as well. Because when the 50-over World Cup was there, I said there is no competition between India and Pakistan. India is way ahead of Pakistan when it comes to 50-over cricket. But T20 cricket allows Pakistan to be a little closer to us, so these are the teams which I will be keeping an eye on and of course the home team, West Indies. You know, West Indies in T20 cricket is a team to watch out for,” Pathan signed off.