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Gautam Gambhir is of the firm view that the Indian cricket team should have one captain across formats and in his view, Rohit Sharma should lead India across all formats.

Rohit Sharma took over the T20I captaincy from Virat Kohli following India’s T20I World Cup 2021 unceremonious exit and later replaced him as captain in the 50-over format as well. KL Rahul led India in the second South Africa Test after Virat Kohli missed the match due to injury. KL Rahul is also leading India in the three one-day matches in South Africa after Rohit Sharma failed to recover from an injury, missing both Test and ODI series.

Gautam Gambhir: Rohit Sharma Should Lead India Across All Formats As One Captain Will Ensure Consistency

Rohit Sharma, India’s white-ball captain is recovering well from his left hamstring injury and has a bright chance of making a comeback for the six-match home limited-overs series against the West Indies next month. Rohit Sharma, who was also the designated Test vice-captain for the tour of South Africa, sustained a left hamstring strain during a net session just prior to the team’s departure for the tour and had to pull out from both Test and ODI matches.

In his column, Gautam Gambhir wrote, “In my book, Rohit Sharma should lead India across all formats with Rahul as his deputy. One captain across formats will ensure consistency in style and approach of the Indian team especially considering that we have another T20 World Cup later this year.”

On Saturday, Virat Kohli stepped down as India captain following the team’s 1-2 series loss in South Africa. With 40 wins and 17 losses in 68 Tests as captain, Virat Kohli is India’s most successful Test leader.

“Between the last Test and ODI series, the news space has been hogged by Virat resigning from Test captaincy. I think it is an individual’s call and that is how it should be treated. I think Virat left the Indian Test team is good health but I can’t say the same about white-ball cricket,” Gautam Gambhir added.

“Our bowling resources in Test matches are a neighbour’s envy and owner’s pride. They have showed time and again that they are the engine room for a team’s performance. In limited overs cricket, I’d have liked to see a more settled middle-order, which Virat could not create,” Gautam Gambhir added.

Rohit Sharma, who was named ODI captain earlier this month replacing Virat Kohli, was to travel to South Africa as vice-captain for the Test series which began on December 26 but a hamstring injury during training ruled him out. He had taken charge as T20I captain against New Zealand last month.

Gautam Gambhir Hopes Shikhar Dhawan Is Included In The ODI XI Against Proteas

On the ODI series starting on Wednesday 19th January, Gautam Gambhir hoped that opener Shikhar Dhawan is not left out from India playing XI.

“Shikhar Dhawan is a sensation on social media. He has close to 10 million followers on Instagram alone, which is almost ten times more than the population of Gurugram where he now lives. I’d recommend that there is something for everyone on his Insta handle. There are fitness videos, dancing videos with his mother, dubsmash videos and there is also a video where Shikhar is playing the flute with perhaps his Guru,” Gautam Gambhir observed.

Not in the scheme of things in any other format, this series may be the last chance for Shikhar Dhawan to salvage his ODI career. Shikhar Dhawan has been an enigma. Over 6000 ODI runs with 17 centuries at an average of 45. 55 while striking at 93. 79 are enviable numbers. He has not played in India colours since leading a second-string team on a white-ball tour of Sri Lanka in July last year.

“Trust me, it’s an absolute delight, all notes are in proper place just like a perfectly struck left-hander’s cover drive with the bat finishing on his right shoulder. How good it will be to see him translate his social media form on the playing field. It is a grand opportunity for him in South Africa. I am not a great believer in age and all that,” Gautam Gambhir added.

“His critics are saying that at 36, Indian cricket should look beyond Shikhar. My worry is the lack of runs in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. I hope he can put it all behind him and put his best foot forward. There is a school of thought that Shikhar should not be played in the final eleven. I think that will be a disaster. Why would you take Shikhar to South Africa and then leave him on the bench? It will make no sense at all,” Gautam Gambhir opined.

Shikhar Dhawan Image Source : AP — Shikhar Dhawan Image Source: AP

Calling for the inclusion of both Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal in the playing XI, Gautam Gambhir wrote that he would be looking forward to the performance of Prasidh Krishna on the bouncy pitches of South Africa in the ODI series.

“After KL Rahul, Shikhar, and Virat Kohli, India should continue to play Surya Kumar Yadav at No. 4, Shreyas Iyer at No. 5, Rishabh Pant at 6. I am extremely inclined to use the experience of R Ashwin in my bowling department with Chahal being the other spinner.”

“Fast bowling duties need to be performed by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Prasidh Krishna, and Jasprit Bumrah. I’d be keen to see how Prasidh goes on the bouncy tracks of South Africa. He has conditions in his favour, let’s see if he can translate promise into performance,” Gautam Gambhir signed off.

Prasidh Krishna has impressed one and all in his short international career with his ability to regularly touch 140 kmph. Prasidh Krishna made his ODI debut against England and picked up 4 wickets on debut. He ended with figures of 4/54 in 8 overs and broke the Indian record for most wickets in an ODI debut.

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