Rohit Sharma is our captain… Why did ICC Chairman Jay Shah say this in front of Suryakumar Yadav?
Rohit Sharma Is Our Captain: The ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 is just a few days away. The tournament will begin on February 7th in India and Sri Lanka. Team India will enter this tournament as the defending champions, but the captain who led them to victory, Rohit Sharma, is not part of this tournament. They will not be there. Rohit had retired from T20 cricket after the last World Cup. However, ICC Chairman Jay Shah still considers Rohit to be the captain. Just before the T20 World Cup, at an event, Jay Shah referred to Rohit as the captain. The current T20 captain, Suryakumar Yadav, was also present at this event.
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The captain who led them to victory in the previous World Cup, Rohit Sharma, is not part of this tournament. But still, Jay Shah called Rohit the captain, and there was a special reason for it.
Why did Jay Shah call Rohit the captain?
The event was attended by the World Cup-winning captain and most of the players from those teams. Jay Shah, who was the BCCI secretary at the time, was also present. When it was Jay Shah's turn to speak on stage, he referred to Rohit as his captain, and there was a specific reason for this. Shah said, “Our captain is sitting here. I will call him the captain because he has won two trophies. In 2023 (World Cup). In February 2024, I said in Rajkot that this time we will win both hearts and the cup.”
— . (@lncognltooo) January 8, 2026
Will Suryakumar Yadav continue the winning streak?
Under Rohit's captaincy, the Indian team first won the T20 World Cup 2024 title. This was India's first ICC title since 2013. Then, in March 2025, Team India, again under Rohit's captaincy, won the Champions Trophy. This not only ended the long drought of titles but also started a new winning streak.
Now, the responsibility of continuing this streak rests on Suryakumar Yadav
This tournament is going to be very special for him and Team India because they will not only be playing at home but will also be defending the title in front of their fans. This gives India the opportunity to become the first team to win the T20 World Cup at home, and Suryakumar Yadav the chance to become the first captain to achieve this feat.
Summary
Recently, an event was organized by the Reliance Foundation in Mumbai. At this event, the Foundation honored several teams. This included the T20 World Cup-winning team captained by Rohit, the Women's World Cup-winning team captained by Harmanpreet Kaur, and the Blind Women's World Cup-winning team captained by Deepti KC, all of whom were felicitated by the Reliance Foundation.
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