Rohit Sharma replaced Virat Kohli as the Indian team’s skipper in the 50-over format, but the name of vice-captain is still under focus. The entire leadership structure in the Indian cricket team is undergoing a change, be it T20Is, ODIs, or Tests. When Virat Kohli had stepped down as India’s T20I skipper after the conclusion of the T20I World Cup 2021, he had expressed a desire to continue leading the Indian team in both Tests and ODIs.
While Virat Kohli remains the skipper in the longest format, he has already been replaced by Rohit Sharma in both the white-ball formats. As for the Test format, Rohit Sharma’s status has been elevated as the team’s vice-captain, with Ajinkya Rahane being stripped off the role. However, there still is no announcement over the role of vice-captain in the ODI team.
Rohit Sharma’s Deputy May Be KL Rahul Or Rishabh Pant
As per a report, KL Rahul is the favourite to take up the vice-captain’s role in the 50-over format, just as he has been given the responsibility in T20Is. However, there’s another school of thought which is keen to groom wicket-keeper batsman Rishabh Pant as a future captain.
“It’s important to maintain a balance. The selectors are not for making drastic changes. But the team management and the selectors are keen on giving younger players more important roles going forward. Pant is definitely seen as an important part of the leadership group although Rahul is the frontrunner for the vice-captaincy in ODIs because he is already the deputy to Rohit in T20Is,” a source was quoted as saying.
Both KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant have the experience of captaining Indian Premier League franchises. While KL Rahul was leading Punjab Kings before leaving the franchise ahead of IPL 2022 auction, Rishabh Pant was appointed as Delhi Capitals’ skipper in IPL 2021. The dashing wicket-keeper will be leading the franchise Delhi Capitals next season in the extravagant T20 league too.
Rohit Sharma Needed Clarity On His Role As There Aren’t Many ODIs Before 2023 World Cup
As for Rohit Sharma, the newly-appointed ODI skipper is keen to groom many youngsters into leadership roles by giving them new responsibilities. About his own position, the Hitman wanted the captaincy to change as soon as possible as India isn’t scheduled to play many 50-over games before the 2023 World Cup.
“Rohit needed clarity on his role. There aren’t many ODIs before India plays the 2023 World Cup and he is big on grooming the next generation leader too. Virat Kohli too understood the situation,” a source said.
With the BCCI expected to announce India’s ODI squad for the South Africa tour in the coming weeks, the vice-captain’s name in the Indian team will get clear. Although Virat Kohli had resigned from the T20I captaincy, he was keen to remain a leader in both ODIs and Tests.
However, the selectors, while announcing the Test squad for South Africa on Wednesday, also confirmed that Rohit Sharma would lead the team in both ODIs and T20Is henceforth.
Virat Kohli has exceptional numbers in the ODIs as captain where he has a win percentage of 70.43 — the most by an Indian who has led the national side in more than 10 matches. Virat Kohli had led Team India in 95 ODI matches and registered victories 65 times. He is the fourth in the list of most victories by an Indian captain where MS Dhoni leads the tally with 110 wins, followed by Mohammad Azharuddin (90) and Sourav Ganguly (76).
Under Virat Kohli’s leadership, India won 15 ODI bilateral series out of 19, which also includes victories in South Africa, Australia, and West Indies.