T20 World Cup 2022: 3 Players who can lead India in T20Is if Rohit Sharma steps down

India’s hopes of winning the ongoing T20 World Cup 2022 came to an end on November 10, after suffering a comprehensive defeat at the hands of England in the semi-finals. Jos Buttler & Co. thrashed the Men in Blue by 10 wickets to knock them out of the tournament.

It was the first time Rohit Sharma was captaining the Indian team in an ICC tournament. The veteran batter is regarded as one of the finest brains in cricketing circles and has proven his captaincy might in the Indian Premier League on many occasions. However, he was not able to lead his national team to glory at the T20 extravaganza in Australia.

Rohit is 35 years old and is not at the peak of his powers, and it does not appear his form and fitness will last till the next T20 World Cup, which is to be held in the year 2024. Therefore, one could witness the veteran batter stepping down from the leadership role in the shortest format. 

Here are players who can lead India in T20Is if Rohit Sharma steps down:

1. KL Rahul

KL Rahul has been a run-bank for India in the shortest format of the game. The 30-year-old has featured in 72 T20Is and aggregated 2265 runs at a strike rate of 139.13. He has simply been prolific in the IPL arena too, amassing 3889 runs in 109 matches at a strike rate of 136.22.

Rahul is the designated vice-captain of the Men in Blue across formats and has led his national side a couple of times across formats when Rohit has been unavailable. Thus, the team management could look at the flamboyant batter for the captaincy role in the T20Is if the incumbent skipper steps down.

Rahul has led Punjab Kings in the 2020 and 2021 seasons of the Indian Premier League. Also, he is the current skipper of the Lucknow Super Giants and even guided them to playoffs in the last edition of the lucrative T20 tournament. Thus, the 30-year-old is quite experienced in leading a T20 side and he could be looked at as the next T20I skipper of the Indian team.