Following India's victorious T20 World Cup campaign, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah confirmed on Monday that 'seniors will be there' for India's Champions Trophy and World Test Championship campaigns in 2025.
The Men in Blue secured their second world title in the T20 format in a nail-biting summit clash on Saturday (June 29). Star batter Virat Kohli confirmed at the post-match presentation ceremony that he would be retiring from T20I cricket, and captain Rohit Sharma did the same during the post-match press conference. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja followed the pair, making the announcement via Instagram on Sunday.
Ravindra Jadeja follows Kohli and Rohit into T20I retirement after World Cup victory.
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Jay Shah: "Transition has already happened"
Speaking to reporters in Barbados today (July 1), Shah said, "Transition has already happened with three greats retiring. The way this team is progressing, our target is to win the World Test Championship final and Champions Trophy.
"There will be a similar squad playing there. The seniors will be there. Captaincy [of the T20I team] will be decided by the selectors and we will announce it after discussing with them."
All three players prioritised the longer formats over T20Is until the start of 2024. Following the previous World Cup in 2022, Rohit only played three T20Is and Kohli and Jadeja two each, thanks to a combination of workload management and ramped-up preparations for the 50-over World Cup in 2023. Now, they will be free to focus only on ODI and Test cricket.
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When are the Champions Trophy and WTC final scheduled?
The next major tournament on the horizon for India is the Champions Trophy in February 2025, in Pakistan. The Men in Blue won the tournament when it was played in England in 2013, and all three of Rohit, Kohli and Jadeja were part of that squad. Until Saturday's win, it was also the last world title that they had lifted. India made it to the final of the previous edition in 2017, but were beaten by arch-rivals Pakistan.
India were also part of both finals of the World Test Championship. The inaugural edition in 2019-2021 saw them take on New Zealand at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. In a match that went into its reserve day, they ended up losing by eight wickets. In the 2021-2023 edition, they were thrashed by Australia at The Oval, thanks in large part to Travis Head's 163 in the first innings. India currently sit atop the standings for the 2023-25 edition, and are expected to qualify for the final at Lord's next June.
Shah also confirmed that the new coach and selector will be announced soon and will take over from India's limited-overs series against Sri Lanka, with VVS Laxman expected to replace Rahul Dravid as the head coach for the Zimbabwe tour.
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