McIlroy would love to be Ryder Cup captain - 'but hopefully not in 2027!'

Rory McIlroy "would love" to be Ryder Cup captain at some point but "hopefully not in 2027" as he prepares for this week's DP World India Championship.

McIlroy will be making his first appearance since Europe's thrilling 15-13 victory over USA at Bethpage Black in September.

The 36-year-old headlines a strong field for the DP World India Championship, live on Sky Sports from Thursday, including fellow Ryder Cup heroes Shane Lowry, Tommy Fleetwood, Victor Hovland, and captain Luke Donald.

• Luke Donald backs Rory McIlroy as future Ryder Cup captain
• When is the next Ryder Cup? 2027 dates and venue
• Got Sky? Watch golf, football and more LIVE on your phone
• Not got Sky? Get Sky Sports or stream no contract on NOW

"I would love to be the European captain at some point," McIIroy said. "But that will be beyond my playing days, or at least when my playing days are coming to an end and I'm not good enough to make the team or I make way for the new generation to come along.

"Hopefully that's not in 2027! Hopefully I'm still good enough to play and put points on the board for Europe.

"I would love to be a captain one day, and I feel very fortunate that I've had a front-row seat playing under some of the best captains in history in the Ryder Cup.

"What Luke Donald has done the last two Ryder Cups has revolutionised the captaincy within Europe. And I feel Paul McGinley in Gleneagles in 2014, he was a wonderful captain and I learned a lot from him. And there's been wonderful captains between them, as well. All of them have been wonderful.

"The time and the effort and the dedication that Luke Donald has put into the last four years, it's been absolutely amazing. He has 100 per cent respect of the entire team and everyone that's worked for him and all be behind him. If I can be nearly as good as a captain as Luke Donald, I'll have done a good job.

"So hopefully one day in the future, but I'd say not until the mid-2030s, hopefully, if I can keep playing well."

'Penge gives me a real incentive to show up this week'

McIlroy is hot favourite to win the Race to Dubai for the fourth year in a row, with three tournaments left before the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.

With 835 points available to the winner of each tournament - McIlroy leads the rankings with 4084.56 points, ahead of Marco Penge with 3691.24 points and Tyrrell Hatton with 2866.08 points.

"Marco's had a fantastic year, I think everyone's so happy to see how well he's played," reflected McIlroy.

"Thinking about him having a putt to make the cut in Korea last year to keep his card, to what he's done this year. It's great to see, but I'm liking that he's pushing me, it gives me a real incentive to show up this week and give it 100 per cent and try to nudge ahead a little bit that lead going into the Middle East for the last couple of events of the year.

"Every week counts. This is a big week to try to just give myself that little bit of cushion but it's going to be a nice race to the the finish and I'm excited to be part of it."

Donald: McIlroy loves the Ryder Cup more than anything

Donald hopes to be involved in the next Ryder Cup in some capacity, while he feels McIlroy's "passion" will help him succeed as a captain down the line.

The 46-year-old said when asked if he will lead Team Europe in County Limerick: "I'm trying to still enjoy this one!

"If I'm not a captain in two years' time and the captain wants me to be there, then I'm sure I would be happy to help him in any way he wanted."

On McIlroy, who accrued 3.5 points for Team Europe in New York while facing heavy verbal abuse from a section of the home crowd, Donald added: "He loves the Ryder Cup more than anything.

"He made it quite evident that winning an away Ryder Cup would really be the icing on an amazing year that he had [in winning The Masters for the career Grand Slam].

"He loves what it represents. You've seen the emotion from losing to winning. Anyone that has that passion for a Ryder Cup I think would make a good captain."

The field also boasts American major winner Brian Harman, and his compatriot and two-time PGA Tour winner Ben Griffin, who made his Ryder Cup debut in New York this year.

Watch the DP World India Championship live on Sky Sports from Thursday to Sunday. Coverage of day one begins at 7.30am on Sky Sports Golf and Sky Sports Main Event. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour, LPGA Tour and more golf contract-free with NOW.