Rohit Sharma to stay India's captain till ICC Champions Trophy, Bumrah being discussed as next skipper: Sources

Also, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah is being discussed as India's next captain, added the sources.

Rohit's captaincy has been a mix of memorable highs and some extremely disappointing lows. Be it a 10-match winning streak during the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup at home, which concluded with a loss to Australia in the final or India's redemption with an ICC T20 World Cup title win in 2024 at Barbados, Rohit's captaincy has given fans plenty of positives. Under him, team also made it to the final of the ICC World Test Championship 2023, where they lost to Australia.

However, since the second half of 2024, luck seems to have deserted the 'Hitman' both as a batter and captain. In the 2024/25 Test season which started with the home series against Bangladesh, Rohit scored just 164 runs in eight matches and 15 innings at an average of 10.93 with the best score of 52. During the recently-concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he could make just 31 runs in three Tests with best score of 10. His form struggles were such that he opted out of the final Test at Sydney.

As a captain, Rohit touched some embarrassing lows as of late. Just before the Test series against Australia, India lost their first home Test series in 12 years, to New Zealand by 0-3. This was also their first-ever whitewash in a home Test series of three matches or more.

After India won the first Test against Australia at Perth by 295 runs under the captaincy of Jasprit Bumrah, Rohit returned to the side after the birth of his second child. However, on his return, India lost the pink-ball Test at Adelaide, managed to draw the third Test at Brisbane, but lost the Boxing Day and New Year's Test at Melbourne and Sydney respectively.

In the 2024 calendar year, Rohit lost six Tests, including four matches at home. This led to a decline in Rohit's Test record as captain, winning 12 and losing nine, while three ended in a draw.

On the other hand, Bumrah has so far led in three Tests, winning one and losing two.

The freshest challenge awaiting India is the ICC Champions Trophy, starting from February 19 till March 9. It will be hosted by Pakistan and UAE, with India playing its matches in UAE under hybrid model.

The eight-team tournament will feature 15 50-over matches and will be played across Pakistan and in Dubai. The biggest match of the tournament between two arch-rivals India and Pakistan will be played on February 23 in Dubai. India will start its campaign against Bangladesh on February 20.

Group A of the tournament features current Champions Trophy holders and hosts Pakistan, along with India, New Zealand and Bangladesh, while Group B features Cricket World Cup 2023 champions Australia, alongside Afghanistan, England and South Africa.

Rawalpindi, Lahore, and Karachi will be the three venues in Pakistan which will host the tournament. Each Pakistan venue will feature three group games with Lahore hosting the second semi-final.

Lahore will also host the final on March 9, unless India qualifies, in which case it will be played in Dubai. Both the semi-finals and the final will have reserve days.

The three group matches involving India, as well as the first semi-final, will be played in Dubai. Pakistan take on New Zealand in the Group A tournament opener in Karachi on February 19. The Dubai leg begins the following day with India taking on Bangladesh.

Group B begins on February 21, with Afghanistan squaring up against the Proteas in Karachi.

A big weekend then kicks off with rivals England and Australia set to clash in Lahore on Saturday ( February 22), with the much-anticipated Pakistan-India clash set for the day later.

The eight sides in the Champions Trophy competing for the famous white winners' trophy and jackets are the teams that finished in the top eight positions on the points table of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023. (ANI)