As per Gambhir, India should have one captain across all formats.
A day after the Test series defeat against South Africa, Virat Kohli stepped down as captain as there is no clarity on India’s new skipper for the longest format yet.
Earlier, Kohli had quit India’s T20I captaincy while he was sacked as ODI skipper. Rohit Sharma, who is currently recovering from a hamstring injury, will lead the country in white-ball cricket going forward.
Meanwhile, ex-India opener Gautam Gambhir has opined that the Indian cricket team should have one captain across all formats and Rohit is an ideal candidate for the role.
Notably, KL Rahul had led India in the second Test against South Africa after Kohli missed the match due to upper back spasm. Rahul is also captaining the country in three ODIs in South Africa as Rohit is still recovering from a hamstring injury.
"In my book Rohit Sharma should lead India across all formats with Rahul as his deputy. One captain across formats will ensure consistency in style and approach of the Indian team especially considering that we have another T20 World Cup later this year," Gambhir wrote in his column for TOI.
Virat Kohli had taken charge of the Indian Test team in 2014 and the national side achieved tremendous success under him. He led the country in 68 Tests, winning 40 matches and losing 17.
While Gambhir lauded Kohli for leaving the Test team in a good health, he was critical of the latter’s white-ball captaincy.
"Between the last Test and ODI series, the news space has been hogged by Virat resigning from Test captaincy. I think it is an individual's call and that is how it should be treated. I think Virat left the Indian Test team in good health but I can't say the same about white-ball cricket. Our bowling resources in Test matches are a neighbour's envy and owner's pride. They have showed time and again that they are the engine room for a team's performance. In limited overs cricket, I'd have liked to see a more settled middle-order, which Virat could not create," Gambhir stated.
(With TOI inputs)