After Mumbai Indians’ (MI) IPL 2020 triumph, many cricket pundits including former opener Gautam Gambhir have said that Rohit Sharma should replace Virat Kohli as India’s white-ball captain.
However, batting legend VVS Laxman doesn’t see a change in captaincy of the Indian team as he believes Kohli is doing a fantastic job.
"No doubt he is a wonderful captain. Whenever he led in Virat's absence he has been successful," said Laxman at the virtual launch of 'The Hitman: The Rohit Sharma Story', written by Vijay Lokapally and G Krishnan.
"Leading a franchise to five titles is not easy. The way he has built the team (Mumbai Indians) and handles tough situations has been superb. He has all the qualities to be a successful captain for India but you don't have to necessarily look for a change. Virat has had phenomenal success and is doing a fantastic job. I don't see any requirement to make a change."
Laxman also said that a batsman of Rohit's calibre should have been a regular in the Indian Test team, and that his career reminds of his own.
"His career reminded me of my career, asked to shift in the batting order. Not easy to open against quality fast bowlers without having opened earlier. He can put pressure on the bowlers once he gets his eye in," he said.
"But he has been bogged by injuries. He is talented enough to succeed as a Test match player. The first time I saw him was in 2005 in the KSCA tournament. He had a lot of time against the fast bowlers, but struggled against the spinners. A year later I saw him so improved and he was clearing the boundary with such ease at No. 6, changing the momentum of the game. I knew he had the ability to do something special. We struggle to get a double hundred in Test cricket and he has done it three times in One-day cricket."
Former India skipper Anil Kumble, who was also part of the book launch, said Rohit would be ready to take charge of the national team when the time comes.
"[He was] extremely confident when we gave him the captaincy offer at Mumbai Indians. It came naturally to him. He is ready for the challenge. Good we are discussing that we have the option of a second guy. We are lucky we have Rohit who has been successful [in the IPL]. When the time comes and the need I am sure he will be ready," Kumble remarked.
(With IANS inputs)
