Team India skipper Rohit Sharma returned to T20Is after a long gap of 14 months. Rohit last played a T20 for India back in November 2022, the semi-final of the T20 World Cup and since then he and Virat Kohli, the two senior pros preferred ODIs since there was a 50-over World Cup on priority. However, with another T20 World Cup in sight, both of them returned and as he took the field in the series opener against Afghanistan in Mohali on Thursday, January 11, he became the oldest player to lead India in the shortest format.
Rohit at 36 years and 256 days broke Shikhar Dhawan‘s record, who at 35 years and 236 days led India in his final T20I back in 2021. MS Dhoni, the legendary Indian captain is in third place at 35 years and 52 days, who played his final match as captain of India in T20Is in 2016.
Oldest captains of India in T20Is
Rohit Sharma – 36 years 256 days
Shikhar Dhawan – 35 years 236 days
MS Dhoni – 35 years 52 days
Suryakumar Yadav – 33 years 91 days
Virat Kohli – 33 years 03 days
So far, 13 players have led India in T20Is and the age group ranges from 24 to 36, which shows the versatility of the format.
As Rohit returned to T20Is, he had a bittersweet outing given he was run out for a duck while batting, however, his team won the match and like he admitted, that was the most important thing. Shivam Dube with his all-round show scoring an unbeaten 60 off 40 with the bat and taking a wicket with the ball, helped India chase down 159 runs in the series opener against Afghanistan. India took a 1-0 lead in the series with the second game to be played in Indore on Sunday, January 14.