India's T20 World Cup-winning captain will continue to take charge of both the ODI and Test teams next year, says BCCI.
India's Rohit Sharma, who ended his international T20 career with a triumph at the ICC T20 World Cup, will lead the team in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, the country's cricket board has confirmed.
Rohit will remain as captain of India's Test and One-Day International (ODI) teams after leading India to the T20 title and ending the cricket-crazy nation's 13-year drought for an ICC Men's World Cup trophy, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed on Sunday.
BCCI Secretary Jay Shah said Rohit would lead the team in the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final and the Champions Trophy.
“After this win, the next stage is the WTC 2025 final and the Champions Trophy,” Shah said in a video message. “I am really confident that we will win both tournaments under the leadership of Rohit Sharma.”
Rohit, 37, Virat Kohli, 35, and Ravindra Jadeja, 35, announced their exit from T20 after the victory over South Africa in the final in Barbados on June 29.
It was also coach Rahul Dravid's last game.
Shah praised the trio of veteran players as well as Dravid.
“This was our third final in the last year,” Shah said, referring to the ODI World Cup and the World Test Championship.
The ODI Champions Trophy is scheduled to be held in February-March 2025 in Pakistan, India's western neighbour and arch-rival in the sport.
The crucial match between Pakistan and India is scheduled for March 1 in the eastern city of Lahore, which lies 24 kilometres (15 miles) from the Indian border, according to Al Jazeera's sources at the Pakistan Cricket Board.
For many years, the Indian government has banned the national cricket team from travelling to Pakistan due to ongoing political tensions between the two neighbours.
The BCCI has previously stated that the decision on travelling to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy will be guided by the advice of the Indian government.
India last played Pakistan in 2008, losing the Asia Cup final by 100 runs to Sri Lanka in Karachi.
However, Pakistan are set to travel to India in late 2023 for the 50-over World Cup after their government gave the green light to the tour, opening up the slim possibility of India doing the same for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
The WTC cycle will conclude in June 2025 with the final at Lord's in London.
India have twice finished runners-up in the Test championship, losing the final to Australia last year.
Under Rohit, India also lost the ODI World Cup final to Australia at home in 2023.
He took over as captain of the white-ball team in 2021 and became the leader of all formats a year later.
