‘India can consider split captaincy to preserve longevity of Virat Kohli’: Tom Moody

India is currently led across all formats of the game by Virat Kohli.

By Salman Anjum - 11 Jul, 2020

Even if quietly, there have certainly been talks that India could try and see how the split captaincy might work out with Virat Kohli remaining the Test captain but relinquishing the post for Rohit Sharma in white-ball cricket.

The advocators of the thought feel it would allow Kohli, also the team's best batsman across all formats, to manage his workload slightly better.

Sharing his two cents on the same, former Australia cricketer-turned-coach Tom Moody said India can consider split captaincy if they are concerned about Kohli's longevity in international cricket.

See Also: Tom Moody pinpoints why Team India missed out on World Cup glory last year

"On the [split] captaincy, it really depends. Like for England, Eoin Morgan is not a Test player, he has been, but he is not recognised as a Test player, he is a specialist white-ball cricketer. So it works for them pretty easily, it's a natural transition," Tom Moody told sports presenter Harsha Bhogle during a chat for Cricbuzz.

"With India's example, which is probably the most high profile example, the only reason I would consider split captaincy there is purely to preserve the longevity of Virat Kohli.

"Virat Kohli is a superstar, we all know that. And he is an absolute delight to watch, to compete, as a captain and as a batsman.

"But if you took the white-ball captaincy away from him, for instance, the question and discussion should be can we have this special talent for longer? Because the role of the captain in three formats in any country is a significant role, but in India, it's another league.

"It's a completely different pressure. And I would be concerned that if Kohli maintains all the three captaincy roles, are we losing two-three years of international cricket from one of the game's greatest-ever players?"

On occasions when Kohli opted out of a series, it is Rohit who took over the leadership duties and achieved impressive results. In 2018, he led the second-string Indian sides to Nidahas Trophy and Asia Cup wins. Moreover, Sharma has guided Mumbai Indians to four IPL titles after becoming the captain in 2013.

However, some cricket experts including former England skipper Nasser Hussain believe it would be difficult for a team like India to adopt split captaincy.

"It depends on the character, Virat (Kohli) is such an imposing character, all-encompassing, it would be difficult for him to hand over, he wouldn't want to hand anything over," Nasser had told Cricbuzz last month.

By Salman Anjum - 11 Jul, 2020

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