'There'll be some retirements': Sunil Gavaskar's bleak prediction of India's future after crashing out of T20 World Cup

Sunil Gavaskar has said that India's T20I setup could see major changes in the months following the end to their 2022 T20 World Cup campaign.

India's 2022 T20 World Cup campaign ended in a rather crushing 10-wicket defeat to England at the Adelaide Oval. While India did manage to put up a competitive total of 168/6 batting first, largely thanks to a late blitz from Hardik Pandya, England openers Jos Buttler and Alex Hales made a mockery of that total.

Gavaskar has indicated that some of the senior players could retire from the T20 setup

Captain Buttler and Hales, who made a comeback to international cricket in September this year after being frozen out of the England setup since March 2019, chased down the total with four overs to spare. Hales scored 86 off 47 balls while Buttler made 80 off 49 balls as the pair smashed a hapless Indian bowling attack all around the park. India's defeat is a stunning result by itself but the manner in which they lost after being consistent throughout the tournament was considered even more extraordinary.

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar feels that there will be major changes in the T20I setup now that this campaign has ended. He suggested that some of the older players like captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli may consider retiring from the format and that it is pretty clear to him that Hardik Pandya will now play a more active role in leading the team.

"For the tour of New Zealand, it's a different team. The team is going there under Hardik Pandya. He will begin to put his stamp on the team because clearly the selection comittee has sent a signal that he, having won the IPL in his first assignment, as a captain, they have marked him out as captain for T20s. So I think with Pandya, it will be a completely different team," Gavaskar told the broadcaster after the match.

"There will some retirements also coming through, you never know. This is not the time to think about it. You really get away from it, give it a lot of thought but there are a lot of players in their mid-30s who would consider their position for the Indian T20 team."

Pandya has captained the team three times since being reinstated in the international setup after leading the Gujarat Titans to the IPL title this year. He led India in the two matches in Ireland in June and later against Afghanistan in the Asia Cup, winning all three, and is set to lead the T20I team once again when India travel to New Zealand for a three-match series, starting November 18 in Auckland.