The split captaincy debate has been a never-ending discussion in Indian cricket following the 2019 ODI World Cup in England and Wales. After Virat Kohli-led India’s semifinal exit, many suggested Rohit Sharma to take over as the limited-overs captain despite Kohli’s good record. While all such talks seemed to have settled down, the split captaincy debate once again hit the headlines after Ajinkya Rahane led India to a historic 2-1 Test series win in Australia, in the 2020/21 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, after Kohli’s early departure following the series opener.
In this regard, former selector Sarandeep Singh opened up on the split-captaincy talks and defended Kohli over it. Sarandeep told on Sportskeeda’s Cricket Page, “Virat Kohli is the captain. He has been leading for 4-5 years. He has been handling the team well. If Virat’s captaincy starts affecting his batting, then we can think of someone.
He further opined, “But the question that arises is, can anyone perform with the same level of consistency that Virat has done in all three formats? Virat Kohli is the leader. He has made this team. Yes, there have been ups and down…Definitely, Ajinkya Rahane, the way he handled the team (in Australia) was impressive. He is a very smart and thinking cricketer. But he was very well backed up by the rest of the teammates as well.
Some big names had predicted a 0-4 loss for India in Australia. The Indian team though showed they can win even without Virat. However, I don’t see that as a reason to go for split captaincy,” he added.
Sarandeep also stated, “Rohit is a wonderful batsman. As a captain, he has led Mumbai Indians to multiple titles in the IPL. But he has got injured a lot recently. He missed the New Zealand Tests and the ODIs and T20Is in Australia. So one has to see who can replace Virat as leader in all three formats. As of now, Virat seems the right choice and he is doing fine.”
