Last updated on January 31st, 2022 at 10:26 am
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Virat Kohli on Saturday (January 15) shocked the cricketing world with his decision to quit as Test captain. As expected, the development left Team India management scratching their heads as they will now have to pick the batter’s successor.
However, if reports are to be believed then the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has already made up their mind and they are soon going to announce Rohit Sharma as the new Test captain.
As per a report by InsideSport, the BCCI will make official announcement right after the ongoing tour of South Africa, which ends January 23 with India playing their last ODI of the three-match series.
“Without any doubt Rohit Sharma will be the new Test captain of India. Rohit was named vice captain before the South Africa series & will now be elevated as captain of the team. The announcement will be made soon”, BCCI official told InsideSport.
The BCCI official further said that selectors will also speak to Rohit on his workload & fitness related issues.
“The workload will be immense. He needs to keep himself very agile and fit. I think the selectors will have a word with him. He will have to work to extra-bit on his fitness”, said the BCCI official.
Notably, the home Test series against Sri Lanka, which is set to commence from February 25, is likely to be Rohit’s first official assignment as India’s new Test captain.
It has been an open secret in recent years that apart from being one of the best performers across formats, Rohit, who is already captaining Team India in the white-ball format, has been a few notches above his peers in terms of acceptance of one and all in this team.
Having learned the ropes of captaincy handling Mumbai Indians in the IPL, Rohit’s man-management is seen closer to MS Dhoni’s style.
While KL Rahul, because of his age, is also being considered a long-term all-format leader, something which might also have the backing of head coach Rahul Dravid, what will go in Rohit’s favour, despite the fitness and age concern, is his excellent form across formats.
”Rohit Sharma should be the bridge before BCCI is confident about the next young India captain that they want the team to lead for at least five years.
”This ICC World Test Championship cycle should be about giving it to an experienced hand rather than someone, whose leadership credentials aren’t proven enough,” a senior BCCI official stated to PTI.
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