Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be in focus as the Indian men’s cricket team are set to take on big assignments in 2024. While T20 World Cup 2024 will be the cherry on the cake, here are the top 3 series that India will play in 2024.
In Short
- India are going to play a lot of cricket in 2024
- India will hope to win the 2024 T20 World Cup
- This could be Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s last year in T20I cricket
India finished 2023 as the top ranked team in all formats of the game. While India dominated the bilateral ties and won the Asia Cup 2023, they fell just short of winning the ODI World Cup despite hosting the tournament. Star India batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli had strong year with the bat and paved the way for an attractive brand of cricket, which India would hope to carry into 2024.
The senior India batters will be in focus once again given this could be their final year in T20 cricket. The Indian team are set to play a lot of cricket in 2024, and it will be an important year for the team that has already begun its transition.
In Test cricket – India now have an attacking No. 3 and No. 4 batter in Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer – instead of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane.
In ODI cricket, the team has seen fresh players in the ODI series against South Africa and that could mean the start of an exciting journey for a new generation of cricketers.
On that note, here’s a look at what could be their top 3 assignments this year.
Test Series Against England
Ben Stokes’ England are coming to play India in a 5-match Test series in January. This will be the first time that the Bazballing side will go up against Rohit Sharma’s India.
The two sides have played against each other only once in England, where England came out with a win in a high-intensity encounter. Jasprit Bumrah was the captain of India in that Test match and will hope to turn the tables on home soil. It will be a big series for Ben Stokes’ England too, who have dominated the majority of the Test matches in the last year and a half. A trial by spin will be a proper test of their character and will prove if they are actually one of the best sides in the world.
Test series vs England
Jan 25-29, 9:30 AM IST, Hyderabad
Feb 2-6, 9:30 AM IST, Vizag
Feb 15-19, 9:30 AM IST, Rajkot
Feb 23-27, 9:30 AM IST, Ranchi
Mar 7-11, 9:30 AM IST, Dharamsala
T20 World Cup 2024
There is a major lack of clarity about the Indian side which will play in the T20 World Cup 2024, set to be held in the Caribbean Islands and the United States of America in the month of June. India will only play 3 more T20Is before the tournament, which means that the Indian Premier League will play a major role in the selection of players.
Captaincy Dilemma
India T20I captain Rohit Sharma has not played a single match after the 2022 World Cup semi-final loss against England. Neither Rohit, nor BCCI have put out a confirmation on the batter’s availability for the tournament and fans have been left confused by the non-committal attitude of both sides.
Hardik Pandya has captained the Indian team since Rohit but is currently out with an ankle injury that he faced in the World Cup 2023. It is expected that Hardik Pandya will only return during the Indian Premier League, which leaves him a little over two months to prove his fitness and capability ahead of the ICC tournament.
T20 World Cup 2024 will be played in the month of June
Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25
India will travel to Australia for a 5-match Test series as the side that has beaten the mighty Aussies in back-to-back Test series. If 2018/19 BGT was a historic series win under Virat Kohli, 2020/21 was even better as a C-string Indian side braved all storms to clinch a 2-1 series victory under the leadership of Ajinkya Rahane.
There will be a lot of expectation from the Indian team in the series, who might have Rishabh Pant back in the side. Rohit Sharma is yet to win the BGT as a captain away from home and would hope to carve his name in the history books with a series win Down Under.
November 2024 – January 2025
5 Test match series vs Australia (Away)