Upcoming ODI series against West Indies will be Rohit's first assignment as full-time India ODI captain.
Former bowler Ajit Agarkar believes India's new white-ball skipper Rohit Sharma's biggest challenge will be staying fit ahead of the T20 and ODI World Cups in the next 24 months.
Virat Kohli stood down as captain in T20Is and was removed from the leadership role in ODIs, hence Rohit was named skipper in white-ball formats.
“I think it's a good thing and the right thing to do - to have one captain for white-ball format and now Rohit actually can fly,” Agarkar said on the Star Sports.
With the T20 World Cup in Australia coming up later this year and the ODI World Cup the following year, Agarkar believes the captain should be there with the squad like past captains Kohli and MS Dhoni did.
Due to a left hamstring injury, Rohit was unable to play in the Test series against South Africa. He was also forced to miss the ODI series as well. The hamstring injury has been a recurring issue for him, causing him to miss the first two Tests as well as the white-ball part of the Australian tour in 2020-21.
“So, the challenge for Rohit Sharma – in my opinion - is to stay fit and play everything that is there, from now to the World Cup in white-ball cricket, because you want the captain – that was one of Virat Kohli’s strengths or MS Dhoni before that, they rarely missed games, and both were very fit,” Agarkar said.
However, Rohit is back in the captain's seat for the West Indies series, which begins on February 6 with ODIs in Ahmedabad.