Rohit Sharma to Replace Virat Kohli

 

There could be a change in leadership as far as India’s limited-overs set up is concerned with captain Virat Kohli likely to step down from the role and hand over the duties to his deputy Rohit Sharma. Kohli is the current India skipper across formats having established himself among one of the all-time greats.

There have been rumours of Rohit taking over the charge, at least in T20Is, considering his record as stand-in captain with IPL success where he has Mumbai Indians to five titles further boosting his claim. However, this could become reality once the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup gets over in the UAE with Kohli now more keen to concentrate on his batting.

“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 quoted sources as saying.

Kohli, 32, has so far led India in 95 ODIs, and with 65 wins along with 27 defeats, has a winning percentage of 70.43. In 45 T20Is so far where he has been the captain, India have won 27 times while losing 14 times.

On the other hand, Rohit, 34, has led India 10 times in ODIs and led them to victories on eight occasions while losing twice. In T20Is, he has captained them 19 times of which they have won 15 and lost four.

“It will wrap up a historic Test cycle from an India perspective. Virat is also the first to realise that his overall responsibilities as captain across formats are taking a toll on his batting. He needs that space and freshness because he has a lot more to offer. If Rohit takes over as whiteball captain, Virat can continue leading India’s red-ball aspirations and work on his T20 and One-day batting. He’s just 32 and given his fitness, he will easily play top cricket for another five to six years at least,” the report further quoted sources as saying.

One of the biggest criticisms of Kohli’s captaincy is his failure to land a major ICC trophy since taking over the charge of the team. Recently, in June, India lost in the final of the World Test Championship as well which further fueled the talks.

However, as per the TOI report, Kohli, Rohit and India team management have had meetings in the past few months over the change of guard, at least in white-ball cricket.