New Delhi, Jan 7 (IANS): Former cricketer Aakash Chopra has expressed his expectation that Rohit Sharma is likely to captain the Indian team in the 2024 T20 World Cup as ongoing fitness challenges with Hardik Pandya making it difficult for the all-rounder to play currently.

Hardik has been absent from competitive cricket since October 19, when he sustained an ankle injury while bowling in the ICC Cricket World Cup match against Bangladesh. Consequently, he was unavailable for the five-match T20I series against Australia and the three-match T20I and ODI series during the South Africa tour.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra said: "Hardik will probably not be the captain because there is an issue regarding fitness. You are not playing currently. You twisted your ankle in the World Cup. You are not playing the Afghanistan series and you don't play Tests in any case, so you will straightaway play the IPL. It is going against him," said Aakash."

"I feel Rohit Sharma will be doing T20I captaincy and will also be the captain for the 2024 T20 World Cup. If you had asked this question after the 2022 T20 World Cup, it was almost certain he would not be the captain, considering the way the team performed as we were scoring 60 runs in the first 10 overs," he added.

ICC Men's T20 World Cup co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States set to take place from June 1 to June 29.

India will open their campaign against Ireland on June 5. Their second game of the tournament will be against arch-rival Pakistan on June 9.