Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting highlighted Rohit Sharma’s success as the Mumbai Indians skipper and backed him to captain Team India in Tests. Ahead of the South Africa tour, Rohit Sharma was named as the Indian Test vice-captain. However, due to a hamstring injury, he missed the entire series.
Now with Virat Kohli quitting the Test captaincy, India’s white-ball skipper is the front runner for the leadership role in the longest format of the game as well.
Keeping in mind his success as Mumbai Indians skipper, where he has won 5 IPL titles, many fans and pundits have also backed Rohit Sharma to lead the Indian Test side.
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Although there’s no official confirmation by BCCI about the same, they are likely to name the Test captain ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka, starting 25th February.
Ricky Ponting recalled how Mumbai Indians signed him as their captaincy candidate but his poor form didn't even allow him to play in the first eleven.
"I was at Mumbai Indians when Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy there. I was bought in the auction to be their captain and unfortunately, I wasn't playing well enough after the first few games to keep myself in the team, so I had to make room for another international player to come into the side," Ricky Ponting was quoted by ICC website as saying.
Pointing revealed that when team management asked him who would be the appropriate person to captain Mumbai Indians, there was no doubt in his mind as Rohit Sharma was the only guy whom he thought can lead the team at that time.
"The owners and the team management wanted to know who I thought would be the appropriate person to take over the leadership at the Mumbai Indians. There were a few names thrown around between owners and the other coaches but it was really clear to me that there was only one guy that can lead the team - he was a young guy and his name happened to be Rohit Sharma," he said.
Ricky Ponting backed Rohit Sharma to lead the Indian Test side going forward and said that his success as the captain of the Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League is proof of his leadership skills.
He also highlighted how the senior Indian opener has evolved as a Test cricketer for the last 2-3 years.
"I think the proof is in the pudding with what he has done at the Mumbai Indians since that moment on. He has been a very successful leader there and has been when he has led India on a few occasions as well.
“If I go back to what I said at the start about being on top of your game when you take over a captaincy role, then it is pretty hard to argue after what he has done with his Test cricket in the last 2-3 years. He has played as well as anybody in the world through that period of time, and we know how good he is as a white-ball player," he said.
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Ricky Ponting further said that it’s up to the BCCI whether they want two different captains for two formats or continue with the same captain in all three formats.
He also lauded Ajinkya Rahane as a skipper, saying that even though he hasn’t had his best period with the bat in Tests but almost everyone is aware of his leadership skills.
"They (BCCI) will have a decision to make what they want to do with their roles as well, whether they split roles or they want to keep the same captain for all formats. To be honest, I have worked with Ajinkya - he is just a great bloke, a very, very good player.
“He hasn't had his best period with the bat in Tests, but we saw what he can do leadership-wise in the series against Australia last summer,” he said.
After missing the entire tour of South Africa, Rohit Sharma is back in the Indian setup and will lead the team in the upcoming white-ball series against West Indies, starting 6th February.
(ANI inputs)
