Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar believes Rohit Sharma should be India’s captain in the next two T20 World Cups. BCCI are yet to name India’s new T20I captain after Virat Kohli announced that he won’t continue as the skipper in the shortest format after the T20 World Cup, slated to take place in UAE and Oman in October-November.
India’s limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma, is likely to take over from Kohli after this World Cup but Gavaskar believes the Mumbai opener should take over from this T20 World Cup and remain in the position at least till the next edition of the tournament in Australia next year.
“I think Rohit Sharma (as captain) for the next two World Cups,” Gavaskar said on Star Sports show ‘Cricket Connected’.
India were officially the hosts of the upcoming edition of the World Cup, which will now be held in the UAE and Oman due to the Covid-19 situation in India. The 2020 edition of the T20 World Cup in Australia, which was cancelled due to the global pandemic, is slated to be played next year.
“You could say they (World Cups) are back-to-back, one starting in a month and another exactly a year from now. So clearly, yes, you don’t want to change too many captains at this particular stage. Rohit Sharma would definitely be my choice for captaincy of the Indian team for both these T20 World Cups,” Gavaskar said.
Rohit has stellar record in the limited opportunities that he has got as India captain. He led India to victory in the multi-nation T20 tournament Nidahas Trophy and Asia Cup in 2018, which was played in ODI format. Moreover, Rohit is the most successful captain in the history of IPL with five trophies to his name for the Mumbai Indians.
Kohli, one of India’s most successful all-format captains, will lead in the for the first and last time in the shortest format World Cup. The RCB skipper, however, will be available for selection in all formats and also will remain the captain of India’s ODI and Test teams.
If Rohit is announced as India’s T20I captain after the World Cup then it will be interesting to see how the selection committee plans on India’s preparation for the ODI World Cup, which is not too far away in 2023.
