Irrespective of how they play, India losing a World Cup final always results in fans inquiring about the status of the current captain’s tenure. As a matter of fact, even non-Indian fans and cricket boards tend to consider tinkering with the skipper and support staff post exiting from global events.
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India captain Rohit Sharma, who has now equaled the legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni by losing his third ICC tournament as captain since they last won one over a decade ago, is a loss behind his predecessor Virat Kohli in the same list.
Sharma, who first led India in a bilateral ODI against Sri Lanka six years ago, used to only lead India in Kohli’s absence until the last year. Depending on the format, he gradually took over the reigns from Kohli as India’s full-time captain post ICC T20 World Cup 2021 and India’s tour of South Africa 2021-22.
Not announced as an all-format captain in one official announcement per se, there was no particular time duration for which Sharma, unlike head coach Rahul Dravid, was given the leadership role.
Should Rohit Sharma Continue As The Captain Of The Indian Cricket Team?
Assuming Rohit Sharma manages to remain fit, absolutely yes.
Under him, India have won 34 out of 45 ODIs with an excellent winning percentage of 75.56%. Speaking of Test cricket, Sharma has led the national team to five wins, two losses and as many draws across nine matches.
Having not played a single T20I since ICC T20 World Cup 2022 defeat, one doesn’t expect the selection committee to recall Sharma in the shortest format now.
With ICC Champions Trophy 2025 scheduled to be played in less than 18 months from now, 36-year-old Sharma should be able to retain his spot both as a player and captain till then. While there’s not even an iota of doubt around Sharma’s batting form, he will have to ensure peak fitness to be able to play at the highest level till 2025.
However, only time will tell if he will continue playing till ICC Cricket World Cup 2027 or not. As shared by the legendary Muttiah Muralitharan once, an international cricketer faces difficulties after a certain age.
As far as Sharma’s captaincy replacement is concerned, it is a blemish on the Indian cricket system that no one has been groomed in real sense as of now. In the recent years, players namely KL Rahul (Test spot not confirmed), Jasprit Bumrah (doubts around multi-format fast-bowling captain), Hardik Pandya (fitness concerns), Ajinkya Rahane (35-year old Test vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan (dropped), Rishabh Pant (recovering from car crash) and Ruturaj Gaikwad (not a regular in any format) have led India across formats.
Therefore, sacking Sharma as a captain could leave the Indian cricket team on the horns of a dilemma right now. The most ideal way to proceed forward would be to groom someone under Sharma at least till the next Champions Trophy. Before flourishing as a white-ball captain, even Kohli had done the same under Dhoni post ICC Cricket World Cup 2015.
