India opener Rohit Sharma, on February 19, 2022, was named as the new Test captain of the national team, making him the leader of the team in all three formats. This announcement came when the BCCI announced the squad for the forthcoming T20I and Test series against Sri Lanka.
Chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma announced Rohit, 34, as the new India all-format captain, but in the same vein also revealed that there are more players being groomed for captaincy for the long term.
Speaking during the virtual press conference, Sharma said, "If such a big cricketer comes forward if such an experienced player becomes a captain, then automatically, the things that we as a selection committee want, grooming captain under Rohit, will be a tremendous thing for us."
Sharma also revealed the three potential candidates for the role while mentioning that they are being given more responsibility in every new series. While KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant are also leading their respective franchises in the IPL, Jasprit Bumrah was named the vice-captain for the ODI series against South Africa and in the second Test at Johannesburg.
"We made KL the captain in South Africa. Bumrah was the deputy in South Africa and again for Sri Lanka series. In West Indies T20s, we had Rishabh as vice-captain. These are potential leaders to be groomed under Rohit. Yes, it is difficult to say who will be next captain but we are sure a name will emerge," the 56-year old said.
KL Rahul had lost the only Test he captained in South Africa, along with all the three ODIs on the tour. He will be captaining the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL 2022. Rishabh Pant was handed the Delhi Capitals captaincy in IPL 2021 and he took the team to the top of the points table and into the playoffs.
Jasprit Bumrah has been named the vice-captain of the Indian team for upcoming Sri Lanka series.
Rohit, on the other hand, led India to a 3-0 victory against New Zealand in the T20I series following the World Cup while beating the West Indies 3-0 in the ODIs and is on the verge of achieving another clean sweep in the ongoing T20I series against the two-time T20 World Cup champs.
(Hindustan Times inputs)
