India’s Rohit Sharma, who ended his T20 international career with an ICC T20 World Cup triumph, will lead the team at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the country’s cricket board has confirmed.
Rohit will stay on as captain of India’s Test and one-day international (ODI) teams after leading India to the T20 title and ending the cricket-mad 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.
The BCCI’s Secretary Jay Shah said Rohit would lead the side in the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final and the Champions Trophy.
“After this victory, the next stage is the 2025 WTC final and the Champions Trophy,” Shah said in a video message. “I am truly confident that we will win both the tournaments under the leadership of Rohit Sharma.”
Rohit, 37, Virat Kohli, 35, and Ravindra Jadeja, 35, announced their T20 exit after the win over South Africa in the final in Barbados on June 29.
It was also the last match for coach Rahul Dravid.
Shah praised the trio of veteran players, as well as Dravid.
“This was our third final in the last one 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 and March 2025 in Pakistan, India’s western neighbour and archrival in the sport.
The marquee Pakistan vs India match is scheduled for March 1 in the eastern city of Lahore, which lies 24km (15 miles) from the border with India, according to Al Jazeera’s sources in the Pakistan Cricket Board.
For many years, India’s government has barred the national cricket team from travelling to Pakistan because of ongoing political tensions between the two neighbours.
The BCCI has previously stated that a decision about travelling to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy will be guided by the Indian government’s advice.
India last played in Pakistan in 2008, losing the Asia Cup final by 100 runs to Sri Lanka in Karachi.
Pakistan, however, travelled to India in late 2023 for the 50-over World Cup after their government greenlit the tour, opening up the slim possibility that India would do likewise for the 2025 Champions Trophy.
The WTC cycle will end 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 the captaincy of the white-ball team in 2021 and became the all-format leader a year later.
