Rohit Sharma was elected as the captain of the ICC T20I Team of the Year for 2024, after leading India to a second T20 World Cup title in the year. Despite poor form in Test cricket, Rohit won his first piece of ICC silverware as India captain, finishing as the second-highest run-scorer of the tournament as well. Three other Indians featured in the ICC XI, in the form of pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh and all-rounder Hardik Pandya. Bumrah was adjudged the Player of the Tournament of the T20 World Cup 2024.

Travis Head was selected to open alongside Rohit Sharma, while Phil Salt was also included in the XI, as the No. 3 batter.

Head amassed 255 runs in seven games at the T20 World Cup, finishing as the third-highest run-scorer. The Australian had a superb 2024, and also made his mark in the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Phil Salt hit three T20I centuries in 2024, and found a spot in the ICC XI.

Nicholas Pooran was the highest run-scorer across T20s in 2024, amassing over 2,000 runs, and was chosen as the wicket-keeper in the XI. Pakistan stalwart Babar Azam also found a spot, having scored 738 runs in 23 innings, despite not having the best T20 World Cup.

Zimbabwe’s Sikandar Raza, India’s Hardik Pandya and Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan were selected as the all-rounders in the team. Pandya was arguably the best all-rounder in the T20 World Cup, while Rashid led Afghanistan to a historic first semi-final.

Bumrah had a phenomenal T20 World Cup 2024, picking up 15 wickets, while Arshdeep was the leading wicket-taker of the tournament with 17. The latter picked up 36 wickets in 18 games in 2024.

Alongside Rashid Khan, Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga was selected as the other spinner in the ICC T20I Team of the Year.

ICC T20I Team of the Year 2024: Rohit Sharma (c), Travis Head, Phil Salt, Babar Azam, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Sikandar Raza, Hardik Pandya, Rashid Khan, Wanindu Hasaranga, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh.

File photo of MS Dhoni© AFP

Rohit Sharma on Kapil Sharma’s show© X (Twitter)

The 17th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) was marred by a controversy surrounding the captaincy change for Mumbai Indians (MI). The five-time champions made a big call heading into IPL 2024, replacing long-serving skipper Rohit Sharma by Hardik Pandya, with the franchise bringing him back from Gujarat Titans (GT) as part of an all-cash deal. This led to speculation of a rift between Rohit and Hardik. 

Amid rumours, Hardik Pandya and Rohit Sharma made big contributions in India’s T20 World Cup 2024 win. They were even seen hugging each other after the final, putting to rest speculation that all was not well between them. Veteran journalist Vimal Kumar has now given an interesting insight on the equation between Rohit and Hardik during the T20 World Cup.

During a recent interaction, Vimal Kumar revealed that the two didn’t speak to each other on the first day of practice. However, Rohit and Hardik had a heart-to-heart conversation on the second day, he added.

“When I went to the nets, on the first day I saw they were standing far apart and did not talk to each other. But by the second day, I saw them come over, one after the other, and sit together in a corner, talking for a long time. That moment for me defined this team. There was no camera there; nothing. The way Rohit and Hardik were talking, I was like ‘what am I watching?’,” Vimal Kumar said on 2 Sloggers’ YouTube channel.

The journalist also suggested that the chat between Rohit and Hardik, where the two sorted out their differences, played a key role in calming the atmosphere in the dressing room.

“There is so much going on in India with the public talking about their differences. After that, for the next three days, Rohit and Hardik would bat parallelly. And then Rohit would point out about his batting, bowling. When I saw that atmosphere and thought if they addressed such a complex issue, the elephant in the room. That vibe I saw demonstrated how relaxed the team atmosphere was,” he added.

Mr Vimal, however, gave the credit to the then India head coach Rahul Dravid for handling such a volatile situation.

“The full credit goes to Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma for this. The way he handled the big guys – Virat, Hardik, Rohit – I think Rahul Dravid has a lot to do with it. Everyone gelled together. That was the leadership I had confidence in,” Vimal further suggested.

For the unversed, India won the T20 World Cup after beating South Africa in the final, which was Dravid’s last game as head coach of the Indian team.

After the final, the likes of Rohit, Virat and Ravindra Jadeja also announced their T20 retirements.

File image of Rinku Singh.© AFP

The legendary Rahul Dravid acknowledged that sometimes a little bit of luck can heavily impact the outcome of big matches, citing India’s heartbreaking defeat in the ODI World Cup final to Australia and his side’s sensational triumph from a precarious position against South Africa in the T20 World Cup final. India had stormed into the ODI World Cup final last year with a 10-match winning streak but when the tournament’s best team bumped into Australia in the title clash, nothing worked.

Six months later, skipper Rohit Sharma and Dravid combined to complete the unfinished business. A formidable South Africa stood between them and the trophy but the luck smiled on them.

Having drawn lessons from the incredible highs and lows, Dravid on Wednesday recalled how crucial it was for the team to stick to the cliched process and hope for luck to favour them against the Proteas at Barbados on June 29.

“I’ve had time to reflect on it. I’ve had time to reflect on a lot of things we’ve done. You do realise, sometimes, you have to do a lot of these things, you have to do the process, you have to do everything right,” Dravid, who was chosen for Life Time Achievement honour during the Ceat Cricket Rating Awards, said.

“Sometimes at the end of the day, you need a little bit of luck. (Against South Africa in T20WC final)… 30 balls to go, 30 runs to go. (It was about) incredible execution, incredible calmness by Rohit.” “We didn’t focus on what we needed to do, but we needed a guy who could keep his foot within one inch of a line. Sometimes (it is) the skill,” he said without mentioning Suryakumar Yadav’s juggling act at the ropes to complete David Miller’s dismissal.

That catch had tilted the match in India’s favour.

Dravid then recalled how India were close to dismissing Travis Head in the ODI World Cup final but the opener rode on his tremendous luck to come up with a match-winning century, single-handedly crushing a billion hopes.

“(On) 19th November… I remember whatever it was, we beat Travis Head’s bat 15 times – he didn’t touch a single ball. You know, things can go your way sometimes, but you have to stick to the process,” the articulate Dravid circled back to sticking to the basics.

Dravid retired as India’s coach following the title triumph.

Extolling India’s bench strength and the ability to churn out high-quality cricketers consistently, Dravid said the next generation of players have successfully carried forward the legacy of the ‘Fab Five’.

Dravid himself, Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, Virender Sehwag and VVS Laxman were part of the Fab-five that wowed the cricket fans globally.

“I left in 2011-2012. These players have been able to carry the legacy forward. If you just look at the success that we’ve had over the last 12 years in all the three formats of the game, the time that after we left, it’s been absolutely phenomenal,” he said.

“Very easily, clearly in a lot of the rankings, we’re always (No.) 1 or 2… we’re always up there with anyone. To be able to go out and win that, just the kind of cricket that we play, the level of skill of some of our players, the way that they approach the game, is great,” he said.

Dravid hoped Team India will continue to have success in the coming years.

“I have no doubt that this generation of players, led by people like Rohit and Surya and the (other) guys coming forward in all formats of the game is only going to continue to do that in the future,” he said.

Dravid said while Indian cricketers now are fearless and confident, they also have world-class infrastructure to back their skill sets.

“A lot of them are really fearless. The confidence of a young Indian, and I don’t mean just cricketers, that’s just great. It just gladdens your heart so much.

“The opportunities that young Indians have today. It’s just nowhere in the world. You feel like maybe even growing up at times that you could have your talent and you had abilities, but sometimes you didn’t have the support or the infrastructure to be able to achieve your dreams.” “Today, none of the Indians can say that. All of them have this great infrastructure, great support and it shows in the way they carry themselves and expect the best out of themselves.

Dravid said the Indian players now see themselves as leaders and that was a great change in the terms of thinking.

“Young India expects they can be world-class, they can be world-leaders, and that is a phenomenal change from the time that I was a young man,” he said.

Mumbai, Aug 21 Former India head coach Rahul Dravid on Wednesday said the support staff strived to carry the energetic “team atmosphere” from the ODI World Cup in 2023 to the T20 showpiece, and the approach helped the team to end a barren run in ICC tournaments.

Dravid masterminded India’s triumph in the T20 World Cup in the Americas before signing off from his role as the head coach.

“Honestly, I didn’t want to do anything different. I think we ran a fantastic campaign in the one-day World Cup, Rohit and the team, everyone involved in that one-day World Cup, we ran a superb campaign,” Dravid said at the Ceat Cricket Rating Awards here.

India had suffered a heartbreaking defeat against Australia in the ODI World Cup final at Ahmedabad.

“There’s nothing we could have done more in terms of our preparation, the planning, the execution of what we needed to do for 10 games in a row to dominate, to win the game we did, play the game we did,” said Dravid.

The Bengaluru man said he and the rest of the coaching staff did not want to break the set pattern of a cordial dressing room. “I did not want to change anything. If you’d asked me and we had a discussion with our support staff, we’d get together with the coaches and say, what do you think we should do differently?” “The common consensus (among the team) was we need to do exactly what we did. We need to create the same energy, create the same vibe, the same team atmosphere that we had and then just hope that on the day, we’ll have a little bit of luck,” he said.

Though he did not experience playing in a World Cup in either of the limited-over formats in India, he was able to soak in all the elation as the head coach.

“To travel all over this country and to be able to experience that joy and passion of the fans. I’ve never been a part of a World Cup as a player in India, but just the experience as a coach to go from city to city and just walk and see what this game meant to the people of this country was phenomenal. It was incredible,” he said.

Dravid said Australia were the better team during the ODI World Cup final.

“I thought we ran a phenomenal campaign. We came unstuck in the final and Australia played better cricket than us on the day. They were a better team and congratulations (to them). That can happen in sport and that’s what sport is about,” he said. 

Former Indian batting coach Vikram Rathour heaped praises on T20 World Cup-winning Indian skipper Rohit Sharma, calling him a “shrewd tactician” and opened on his move to end Jasprit Bumrah‘s overs early during the T20 WC title clash against South Africa. Rathour, who had a stint with Men in Blue as a batting coach from 2021-24, during which India finished as runners-up in two ICC World Test Championships, runners-up in the ICC Cricket World Cup held at home last year and finally the T20 champions after beating Proteas this year, was speaking on “Find a Way with Taruwar Kohli“, a podcast by former U19 World Cup winning cricketer Taruwar.

Speaking on the podcast, Vikram said that Rohit could forget about his decisions after winning the toss or his valuables during a trip, but he never forgets his game plan.

“He might forget whether he has decided to bat or bowl at the toss, or his phone and iPad in the team bus but he never forgets his gameplan. He is very good at it and is a very shrewd tactician,” Rathour said.

The former batting coach called Rohit a “player’s captain” and lauded him for investing so much time and energy in team meetings and strategies.

“He is a player’s captain. He is invested with the players. I have never seen a captain, who is so invested in team meetings and strategies. He spends a lot of time on the team’s strategy. He is part of the bowlers’ meeting, batters’ meeting. He wants to sit with the bowlers and batters to try and understand what they are thinking. He invests a lot of time with the players,” Rathour said.

Speaking about ending Bumrah’s four-over spell by the 18th over during the title clash, Vikram said that giving the ball early to Bumrah helped choke Proteas’ run flow when they seemed to be in a dominant position, needing 30 runs from 30 balls while chasing 177. The final two overs went to Arshdeep Singh and Hardik Pandya, who were left with 20 runs to defend. Arshdeep and Hardik did the job successfully, winning the game for India by seven runs.

“He (Rohit) is tactically very good as a captain. In the T20 World Cup final, he finished Bumrah’s over early. A lot of people must have questioned that decision but that decision put us in the situation, where 16 was needed in the last over. His tactical decisions on the field are spot on. Sitting outside, it surprises you as a coach as well. We from outside sometimes think what he is doing but then you realise what he has done after a while,” Rahtour concluded.

India ended their 11-year-long ICC trophy drought as Virat Kohli (76), Axar Patel (47), Hardik Pandya (3/20) and Jasprit Bumrah (2/18) starred in Men in Blue’s seven-run win over South Africa in the final at Barbados on June 29. Virat’s masterclass knock helped India reach 176/7 in 20 overs, while Bumrah and Pandya unleashed a pace choke on Proteas, snatching the match from a losing position to restrict Proteas to 169/8 in their 20 overs.

File photo of Rahul Dravid

Andhra Pradesh and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy said that he admires star India batter Virat Kohli and former South Africa cricketer AB de Villiers. Nitish was called-up to the Indian squad after a solid Indian Premier League (IPL) 2024 season with SRH, for the five-match T20I series against Zimbabwe. Though he could not play due to a sports hernia injury, he has created an impression strong enough to be considered for future series with a ‘Emerging Player of the Season’ award worthy performance in this year’s IPL, scoring 303 runs in 11 innings with two fifties at a strike rate of 143 and taking three wickets with his seam bowling.

The 21-year-old is now working his way back to full fitness as the new domestic season starts on September 5 with the Duleep Trophy.

Speaking to Star Sports, Nitish said that he has been a huge fan of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for the last 10 years.

Nitish recalled when he first met Virat Kohli and only shook his hand and got his autograph. The 21-year-old further added that he hoped to play well against RCB, so that Kohli would notice him.

“I really admire Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers. I’ve been a huge fan of RCB for the last 10 years. In 2023, I had the chance to meet Virat Kohli. I didn’t have much to ask him; I just wanted to shake his hand and get his autograph. In 2024, I was hoping to play well against RCB so that Virat Kohli would notice my game. Though I didn’t get to bat in that match, he remembered my name during the post-match handshake. That meant a lot to me,” Nitish was quoted in a release from Star Sports as saying.

Nitish started making waves Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy when he scored a triple ton against Tamil Nadu and 190 against a strong bowling attack of Karnataka and a quadruple ton against Nagaland, finishing the 2017-18 edition of the tournament with 1,237 runs.

Frustrated by his poor performances, in 2019, Nitish decided to play solely as a batter, but Srinivas Reddy, one of his coaches, encouraged him to continue as a bowler, pointing out the rarity of pace bowling all-rounders in India.

After that, Nitish was picked up for an ACA camp to pick up a pool of players for the 2019-20 domestic season. The all-rounder said that he was initially picked up as an understudy in the larger squad but the skipper, Hanuma Vihari, was impressed and pushed for his inclusion in the Ranji squad. He went on to make his Ranji debut against Kerala in January 2020.

Reddy was picked up SRH ahead of the 2023 IPL but got to play only two games in which he did not get to bat. In July last year, he was called up to India’s Emerging Players squad for the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka but did not get to bat there either.