Sunil Gavaskar has backed Rohit Sharma to do well as Team India captain in the shortest format of the game.
- Virat Kohli quit as India’s T20I captain at the end of the team’s T20 World Cup campaign.
Former India skipper Sunil Gavaskar has backed Rohit Sharma to do well as Team India captain in T20Is, saying that the Indian team management doesn’t have to think long-term in terms of appointment to the role. Gavaskar pointed out that the next edition of the T20 World Cup will be played in Australia in 2022. Virat Kohli’s tenure as T20I skipper ended with a disappointing T20 World Cup in the UAE. Citing workload concerns, Kohli, ahead of the T20 World Cup, announced that he would relinquish the T20I captaincy after the tournament. Rohit was on Tuesday named captain for the T20I series against New Zealand this month.
Despite India thrashing Namibia by nine wickets on Tuesday, the team failed to qualify for the semifinals of the tournament, finishing third in Group 2 behind Pakistan and New Zealand.
Gavaskar, during a discussion on Sports Today, said Rohit, who has already led the team on numerous occasions, is the right man to lead India to an ICC Trophy.
The legendary batter also highlighted the 34-year-old’s excellent record in the Indian Premier League, having guided Mumbai Indians to a record five titles.
“Long term is in case the next World Cup is maybe two or three years away. The next World Cup (T20) is just 10-12 months away. You don’t really have to look long term then,” said Gavaskar.
“But right now, you have to look at the best man who can guide India to an ICC trophy. And that man is Rohit Sharma with his record for Mumbai Indians in the IPL, he is the obvious choice. So, I think, he should be given the captaincy and maybe after the next year’s World Cup is done in Australia, maybe have a look at another T20 captain, but right now it’s only Rohit,” he added.
India will host New Zealand for a three-match T20I series, starting from November 17 in Jaipur. Both teams will also play two Tests, in Kanpur and Mumbai.
The series will mark the start of Rahul Dravid’s reign as the head coach of Team India, after being appointed as Ravi Shastri’s replacement earlier this month.
