After Virat Kohli, will Rohit Sharma captain T20?
After Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma will captain T20?, know what is the opinion of former cricketers
Who will be the new T20 cricket captain of India? Between 8 and 80, this question has been swirling in everyone’s mind ever since Virat Kohli announced on Thursday that he will retire from T20s after the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup in UAE and Oman.
Few names have surfaced in the IPL but even after Rohit Sharma’s name cropped up, Sunil Gavaskar has mentioned KL Rahul as a possible candidate while Delhi Capitals flamboyant Rishabh Pant is a strong social media choice.
It is unlikely that the national selectors will be influenced by social media. If the statements made by Virat Kohli and BCCI are looked at carefully, Rohit Sharma fits perfectly on this ‘roadmap’ and the former cricketer also agrees with it. He thinks Rohit Sharma is fit for it.
Rohit is an automatic choice for former India captain Dilip Vengsarkar. Dilip Vengsarkar says, “Rohit deserves to be India’s next T20 captain because whenever he has got a chance to lead India, he has done well.”
Vengsarkar said, “In 2018, India won the Asia Cup under his captaincy. Also, he has been an exceptional captain for Mumbai Indians, leading them to five IPL titles.” Kohli has never won the IPL as the captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore. Former batting star Sandeep Patil also appeared to agree with Vengsarkar.
“Rohit has proved his mettle,” said Patil, a member of India’s 1983 World Cup winning team and former BCCI selection committee chairman. In a social media post on Thursday, Kohli had cited excessive workload as one of the reasons behind his decision to step down. He will continue to lead India in Tests and ODIs.
Former batsman Sunil Gavaskar believes that Punjab Kings captain Lokesh Rahul should be groomed as the white-ball captain in the future, while Rohit is the clear choice to take over the captaincy from Kohli.
Gavaskar said, ‘It is necessary to think ahead. “He (Rahul) is doing well in IPL and 50-over cricket as well as internationally. He can be made the vice-captain.”
While the BCCI is in no mood to rush to announce a new T20 captain, it will be Kohli’s responsibility to finish his T20 captaincy innings at a high level in the World Cups in UAE and Oman. India will begin their T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan on October 24.
