Ravi Shastri also said that Rishabh Pant should be groomed for the leadership role.
Former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri backed Rohit Sharma to be Team India’s next Test captain, saying that if the right-hander stays fit he should be getting the role.
Ahead of the South Africa tour, Rohit Sharma was made the vice-captain of the Indian Test team. However, he suffered a hamstring injury and was further ruled out of the whole tour.
Following Virat Kohli’s decision to step down as the Indian Test skipper, there have been many speculations regarding who’ll carry his legacy as a skipper in the longest format of the game.
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With Rohit being India’s white-ball skipper and vice-captain of the Test team, he is likely to be the front-runner for the role of captain in the longest format of the game. Although there’s no official confirmation but many reports have also suggested the same.
Speaking to India Today, Ravi Shastri, said that if Rohit Sharma is fit he should captain Team India in Tests. He stressed that being the vice-captain, he should be promoted as the skipper in the longest format of the game.
"If Rohit is fit, why can't he be the captain in Tests too. He was appointed vice-captain for the South Africa series but he couldn't go there because of injuries. So why not, if he was made the vice-captain, why can't he be promoted to captaincy,” Ravi Shastri said.
Shastri, while talking about the vice-captaincy position of the Test team said that head coach Rahul Dravid should look at an all-format player for the role. He suggested Team India can work even without naming a permanent vice-captain.
"Rohit's vice-captain has to be seen. Rahul Dravid has to see who that person could be because that player has to be a certainty in the playing XI. I think, why name the vice-captain at all?
“Decide on the tour who is the most experienced player, who is playing well. You announce your vice-captain in advance, and later you realise that your vice-captain doesn't fit in your XI," he said.
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Ravi Shastri further hailed Rishabh Pant as a tremendous young player and said that as a coach he was very fond of him. He added that the wicketkeeper-batter reads the game well and always puts the team ahead of himself and should be groomed for the leadership role.
"Rishabh is a tremendous young player. As a coach, I was very fond of him, his attitude and the good thing about him was that he would always listen to you.
“A lot of people say, he always does what he wants but that's not true. He reads the game well and would always put my team effort first than self. So he should always be kept in mind for leadership," he said.
Notably, Rishabh Pant impressed many with his captaincy in the IPL 2021 and led Delhi Capitals to the playoffs. The wicketkeeper-batter will captain them in the upcoming IPL 2022 as well.
(India Today inputs)