Even if quietly, there have certainly been talks that India could try and see how the split captaincy might work out with Virat Kohli presumably remaining the Test captain but relinquishing the post for Rohit Sharma in shorter formats.
The advocators of the thought feel it would allow Kohli, also the team's best batsman across all formats, to manage his workload slightly better.
Sharing his two cents on the same, former cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra said India should have no problems persisting with Kohli as captain for the next 12 months but the Asian giants may think of 'change in leadership' if they fail to win even one of the two upcoming T20 World Cups.
The Kohli-led Indian team has failed to lift an ICC trophy as of now. While the Men in Blue lost the final of Champions Trophy 2017 to arch-rivals Pakistan, they suffered a heartbreaking defeat at the hands of New Zealand in the first semi-final of World Cup 2019.
“Rohit is a very good captain. Whenever he has been the captain, be it for Mumbai Indians or for India in the absence of Virat Kohli, he has been very good,” Aakash said while speaking to sports presenter Sawera Pasha during a YouTube interaction.
"If India feels 6 months or 1 and half years down the line that we need a change of guard... I don't think Kohli's performance will get affected. He has reached that level wherein he won't come down from there. His performances will be unaffected regardless of whether he is the captain or not.
"But as a team, sometimes you want a different direction. If you reach that stage, then Rohit Sharma is a readymade choice available. But till then, you need to persist with Kohli, he is improving as captain.
"If he has a good bowling attack, like the one he has in Tests, he is a fine captain who knows how to handle the bowlers well. But if he doesn't have good bowlers, just like the case at RCB, then he is also not that aggressive.
"For the next 10-12 months I think it will be Kohli. But after that if you are looking for a change of guard... I wish India wins an ICC event soon because after 2013 we haven't won anything. There is a T20 World Cup in India as well. Hopefully, India should win one of these 2. If they don't win, then you may start thinking 'let's look for a change in leadership and find a different tone now'," he further opined.
On occasions when Kohli has opted out of a series, it is Rohit who has taken over the leadership duties and achieved good results. In 2018, he led the second-string Indian sides to Nidahas Trophy and Asia Cup wins. Moreover, Sharma has guided Mumbai Indians to four IPL titles after becoming the captain in 2013.
However, some cricket experts including former England skipper Nasser Hussain believe it would be difficult for a team like India to adopt split captaincy.
"It depends on the character, Virat (Kohli) is such an imposing character, all-encompassing, it would be difficult for him to hand over, he wouldn't want to hand anything over," Nasser had told Cricbuzz last month.
(Inputs from India Today)
