Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra said that the Indian cricket team is not ready for the captaincy transition in Test cricket.
Just a day after India lost the Test series against South Africa, Virat Kohli on Saturday (15th January), in a bombshell announcement, stated that he’s stepping down as the Indian Test skipper.
Virat Kohli’s decision to step down as the Indian Test skipper has given rise to many questions including who will fill his shoes in the leadership role.
While it is expected that Rohit Sharma being the vice-captain will take over the capacity reins, some reports suggested that BCCI might hand KL Rahul the responsibility of leading the side in Tests.
Expressing his concern regarding the transition in the Indian Test team, cricketer-turned-commentator Aakash Chopra pointed out that the last few months have been ‘turbulent’ for Indian cricket as there have been wholesale changes in the team selection.
“Transition is completely, totally upon you - you will have to do that now in any case. The transition is happening by default, not by design. The last few months have been turbulent for Indian cricket - whether it was the World T20 campaign, we have seen wholesale changes in team selection,” Aakash Chopra said in a video posted on his YouTube channel.
Aakash Chopra noted the issues with giving the captain to Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, or Ravichandran Ashwin, lamenting that Indian cricket is left stranded for a leader after Kohli's departure.
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"What about Indian cricket now; where will India go from here? You have not prepared that many captains in Test cricket. Ajinkya Rahane was there - he is now standing on the exit door. Rohit Sharma does not remain that fit - that you give him the captaincy of all three formats. Ravichandran Ashwin - we are talking about whether he will get a place at all overseas.
“KL Rahul looks like the most likely heir apparent, but Rohit is actually the vice-captain. So you will make Rohit the captain and Rahul the vice-captain, or you will separate Test and limited-overs and give the Test captaincy to Rahul,” he concluded.
Virat Kohli ended his tenure as the most successful Indian skipper with 40 wins to his name from 68 matches at a win percentage of 58.92%. It remains to be seen who will selectors name as the next Indian Test captain.
