Shane Warne believes Rohit Sharma is the front-runner to replace Virat Kohli as Test captain.
Former Australia spinner Shane Warne is not surprised with Virat Kohli's decision to quit Test captaincy. He understands that the captain of India deals with a lot of pressure which comes with huge expectations.
Kohli announced his decision to step down after the 2-1 Test series loss to South Africa. Warne suggested India pacer Jasprit Bumrah could also take the role, but currently, Rohit Sharma is the frontrunner.
Speaking to ANI, Warne said, "I was not surprised with Virat's decision because being the captain of India has so much pressure and expectation. Virat is such an inspiration to so many people, he is an inspirational leader and I am sad to see him resign as captain and step down. He is still playing Test cricket and he still believes that it is the number one form of the game.
"He will still be playing Test cricket for a long time and I look forward to seeing playing him the longest format. I am a big fan of his. I do not believe a wicketkeeper (Rishabh Pant) should be a captain, I believe a wicketkeeper makes a good deputy, a good vice-captain. Looking at the Indian side, Jasprit Bumrah can make a good captain, Rohit Sharma can make a good captain," he added.
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Kohli led the team to 40 wins in 68 matches, which makes him India's most successful Test captain. India had qualified for the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) final last year, however, they lost to New Zealand.
Further in the interaction, Warne lauded Rohit for his captaincy and said, "Rohit has done a good job in shorter formats, so he will be the favourite to lead the side. KL Rahul could do it, I would love to say Rahane but he has lost form, if Rahane was in form or he finds that form again then he can do it. He is a very good captain, India is lucky to have so many options but I think Rohit will get the captaincy."
Recently, England suffered a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Australia in the Ashes 2021-22. There were blames on the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Hundred for England's poor display of cricket in the longest format.
However, Warne doesn't believe that IPL and the Hundred are the reason behind their failure. "Not at all, the bottom line is that England did not play well enough, they did not get the basics right. They dropped too many catches, Australia has not played that well in Australia in the past few years. India has beaten Australia twice so it shows it can be done by a good team. Australia played terrific cricket and they did not allow England to play well," he said.
"It has nothing to do with the Hundred, has nothing to do with the IPL. The bottom line is that England did not well play enough, that is the bottom line," he added.
Pat Cummins was leading Australia in the Ashes, and Warne liked his captaincy. "I think he did a good job in the Ashes, he has got the respect of everyone that plays cricket around the world," he said.
India faced series defeats in Test and ODI on South Africa tour, and Warne made a comment on their performance. He felt the Proteas were the better side than India,
"Well, South Africa played terrific cricket, they were the better team than India. India did not play well, even though they came close. It was a great result against India. To see Proteas winning both Tests and ODIs, I think it is a fantastic achievement," he concluded.
(With ANI Inputs)