Indian batsman Rohit Sharma could become the new captain of India's white-ball team after T20 World Cup, Times of India reported.
Virat Kohli, the present white-ball captain, is likely to step down after the T20 World Cup that is scheduled to take place from October 17 to November 14 in UAE and Oman, according to the TOI report.
Speculations of Virat Kohli stepping down from the T20 and ODI captaincy have been floating in media for some time, with reports suggesting that the current captain wants to focus on his batting and thus will share leadership responsibilities with Rohit Sharma.
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The rumors of Rohit Sharma taking charge of the ODI and T20 matches have gained ground in view of his record as stand-in captain with Mumbai Indians in the IPL, with whom he has won five titles.
“Virat himself will make the announcement. He is of the view that he needs to concentrate on his batting and go back to becoming what he’s always been — the best batsman in the world,” the Times of India said quoting its sources.
Virat Kohli has been one of the most successful captains of the Indian team. In ODIs, he has captained the Indian team 95 times, winning 65, losing 27, and tying 1 time out of those. In the T20s, he has captained 45 times out of which team India won 29 matches while losing 14 matches.
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Between 2018 and now, he’s led India to some historic Test wins in Australia and England, and his team now stands on the brink of repeating a similar feat in South Africa, should India succeed on that tour in the coming months.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma’s captaincy record has been another wonder to behold. Out of the 10 ODI matches he has captained, India won 8 of them. Meanwhile, out of the 19 T20 matches he captained India has won 15 matches.
Of course, Rohit will have to ensure he maintains top-level fitness. Virat has led by example on that front. For the record, MS Dhoni coming aboard as a mentor has nothing to do with the captaincy. “MS has come as a mentor because his mere presence in the dugout will help the team strategize better. When you have such resources at your disposal, why not use them at the opportune moment,” TOI quoted its BCCI source as saying.
