Rohit Sharma should replace Virat Kohli as India’s white-ball or specifically T20I captain, reckons former opener Gautam Gambhir.
See Also: Rohit Sharma should replace Virat Kohli as India’s T20I captain, reckons Michael Vaughan
Gambhir’s comments came after Rohit led Mumbai Indians (MI) to their record fifth IPL title in Dubai on Tuesday (November 10).
According to Gambhir, it is India's loss if Rohit is not appointed as the captain of Men in Blue.
"If Rohit Sharma doesn't become India's captain, it's their loss, not Rohit's. Yes, a captain is only as good as his team and I completely agree with that, but what are the parameters to judge a captain on who is good and who isn't? The parameters and benchmark should be the same. Rohit has led his team to five IPL titles," ESPNcricinfo quoted Gambhir as saying.
Gambhir further added that if the benchmark to become a captain is their record then Rohit has produced results to put forward his case.
"We keep saying MS Dhoni is India's most successful captain. Why? Because he has won two World Cups and three IPLs," he said.
"Rohit has won five IPL titles, he is the most successful captain in the history of the tournament. Going forward, it'll be a shame if he doesn't get India's white-ball or just T20 captaincy. Because he can't do much more than this. He can only help the team he captains to victories. So if he doesn't become India's regular white-ball captain, it will be their loss," the former KKR captain added.
Virat Kohli is leading India across all formats since January 2017. But Gambhir called for the 'split-captaincy' in the limited-overs format for India.
"They can also consider split-captaincy. No one is poor. Rohit has shown in white-ball cricket how big the difference is between his and Virat's captaincy. One player had led his team to five titles, the other hasn't won yet. I'm not saying this because Kohli is a poor captain. But he has received the same platform that Rohit has, so you have to judge both of them on the same parameters. Both have been captains in the IPL for the same length of time. I feel Rohit stands out as a leader," he concluded.
