Former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin picks Virat Kohli's replacement as Test captain.
Former Indian captain Mohammed Azharuddin named Rohit Sharma as his pick for India’s next Test team captain as he is currently the best player in the country across all formats of the game.
Virat Kohli shockingly stepped down as Test captain last week. Rohit was named the T20I captain when Kohli announced his resignation from T20I captaincy, and then he was also named as the ODI captain as BCCI wished to avoid split captaincy in white-ball formats.
Now, the focus is to pick a new leader to lead the Indian team in the Tests. With new names popping everywhere, Azharuddin believes Rohit is the perfect fit for the role.
"If he is your no.1 player in all formats, then what is the problem?" said Azhar while speaking to India News.
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When asked if the selectors should look for a player that can lead the Indian team for 5-6 years, he replied: "I feel seeing 5-6 years ahead is a long time. You should definitely look forward but need to see immediate as well. Just to look forward, you cannot give to an inexperienced player, which might cause a problem."
Talking about Rohit’s fitness Azhar mentioned: "I feel Rohit Sharma is a good player and can be a very good captain. He might play cricket for another two or three years, he might play more as well but his fitness will be very important because his hamstring becomes weak repeatedly."
He also mentioned that Rohit’s absence will be advantageous to the opposition team in the upcoming ODI series.
“His absence in this series also became an advantage for South Africa because he is an attacking player, plays in an attacking fashion as an opener as well. Whatever experience I have and whatever cricket I have played, I feel the captaincy should be given to Rohit only,” he further said.
India will kickstart the 3 match ODI series against South Africa from Wednesday, January 19th in Paarl. KL Rahul will lead the Indian side in the absence of Rohit Sharma.