The Rohit Sharma-led side made it to the semi-final of the 20-20 World Cup 2022, but it wasn’t easy for them to do so. The first match was a close encounter when they clashed with Pakistan where Virat Kohli pulled off a miracle and took India over the line. The Men in Blue played five league matches but two of them were seemingly one-sided. They even lost a match against South Africa, and the matches against Pakistan and Bangladesh were very close.
Following the World Cup exit facing defeat at the hand of England, reports suggest that the Indian Cricket Board wants MS Dhoni back in the T20I side in the coaching setup. And with the experience of winning big titles from his playing days, the board would hope to change fortunes for the side. The same report suggests that he will be retiring after the 2023 Indian T20 League, which means he could be available to be the coach of the Indian cricket team in the future. He was also with the team last year in the 20-20 World cup as a mentor of the side.
The Indian Cricket Board, as it seems, believes that ‘Captain Cool’ could be the solution to India’s persisting woes in major world tournaments. The split coaching roles across formats could also lessen the workload on Rahul Dravid, who has been coaching the Indian team in all three formats.
Was there a fault in the captaincy?
It is heard that Rohit might leave the captaincy and Hardik Pandya will be stepping up as the new skipper in the shortest format. Rohit could continue to lead the team in the other two formats. There were lots of criticism and trolls on Rohit after an emphatic semi-final loss to England.
Having Hardik as a captain and Dhoni as a coach can be very beneficial for the team as both of them share a great bond with each other, having played together in the past several times for India. He has also been a successful leader for the Gujarat Franchise this year, leading them to their maiden Indian T20 League title earlier this year. He has been in tremendous form since he came back after his back injury.
KL Rahul was also in the talks of becoming the India captain but given his recent performances, his place in the team could be in danger. There is no confirmation on this story yet, but the fans would be buzzing to have Dhoni back in the blue.
