Rohit Sharma Is Next In Line For Indian Test Skipper Role For Doing Well For Mumbai Indians: Kevin Pietersen

Kevin Pietersen, former England skipper feels India is spoilt for choice as both KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma are strong contenders for Test skipper but thinks Rohit Sharma should be their next Test captain. for doing well for IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.

Indian cricket team will soon have a new Test captain after Virat Kohli vacated the spot following the 1-2 series defeat to South Africa earlier this month. While the handing over of the reins across formats from the legendary MS Dhoni to Virat Kohli was a smooth affair, the same cannot be said of the ongoing transition.

Kevin Pietersen: Rohit Sharma Is Next In Line For Test Skipper For Doing Well For Mumbai Indians In IPL

Virat Kohli stepped down from the T20I captaincy days before the 2021 T20 World Cup last year before BCCI replaced him as the ODI skipper too. While Rohit Sharma has been named as his successor in white-ball cricket, when it comes to Test, the choice isn’t that obvious. The Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen though prefers Rohit Sharma for the top role.

“I like Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul, you are spoilt for choice,” Kevin Pietersen was quoted as saying. “Rishabh Pant not yet, maybe in one day (cricket) yes. Sharma and Rahul are very fine cricketers. I like Hitman (Rohit), I love watching his cricket. He has done well for Mumbai Indians and he is next in line.”

Rohit Sharma was recently appointed as the vice-captain of India’s Test team but he was not part of the recently-concluded 3-match series in South Africa due to a hamstring injury. Rohit Sharma took over after Ajinkya Rahane was sacked from the role as Test vice-captain over a dip in form. KL Rahul was then assigned the role and he led India in the 2nd Test when Virat Kohli was injured and the ODI series that followed.

Mumbai Indians-the most successful franchise in the history of the IPL has won five titles in 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020, all under Rohit Sharma’s leadership.

Kevin Pietersen: Virat Kohli Probably Wanted A Break As It’s Difficult Playing Under Bio Bubbles

While rumour mills are in an overdrive ascertaining why Virat Kohli has completely stepped away from the leadership role, Kevin Pietersen feels that the extra pressure of playing in bio-bubble to prevent Covid-19 is the main reason behind the decision.

“Virat Kohli is a kind of guy, who in current circumstances, it’s very difficult for his personality to perform. I have friends in all sports, some are the best in the world and they all say that it is very difficult to play in the conditions that people have been playing since the last two years,” Kevin Pietersen said.

“I am actually not surprised that Virat just wants a little break from that extra pressure because it’s damn difficult playing under a bubble,” he added.

He also slammed those criticizing Virat Kohli. With 40 wins and 17 losses in 68 Tests as captain, Virat Kohli is India’s most successful Test leader.

“Kohli needs crowds. Kohli gets his juices going because he is an entertainer. So people who are critical of modern day sportsmen, I think are foolish because it’s hard to play in a bio-bubble,” he said.

Virat Kohli last week decided to step down from Test captaincy after a 1-2 loss against the series against South Africa. He captained India for more than 7 years in the longest format. He led India in 68 Test matches as India won 40 of those games and lost 17. India never lost a home test series under his leadership.

Virat Kohli left all his captaincy duties in the last 4 months. First, he left RCB’s captaincy after IPL 2021. Then after the T20I World Cup, he decided to step away from India’s T20I captaincy. Then the selectors sacked him from the ODI captaincy as they wanted to have the same captain in both white-ball formats.