Rohit is likely to lead in the Caribbean but not sure if he will remain test captain after Windies Tour
Rohit will lead Indian in the two test series in the West Indies and then maybe sit with BCCI and decide his future in traditional format.
New Delhi: There is no immediate threat to Rohit Sharma’s Test captaincy, but the classy Mumbaikar will need to muster some considerable numbers in the West Indies to avoid questioning his leadership in the traditional format.
Rohit will lead Indian in the two test series in the West Indies and then maybe sit with BCCI and decide his future in traditional format.
If we who are aware of the developments in the Indian team are to be believed, unless Rohit himself decides to stay away from two-Test series against West Indies from July 12 in Dominica from July 12, he will leave the team to lead.
However, the BCCI buyer and the national selection committee will be under pressure to make a tough decision if he fails to land at least one major knock on Dominica or Port of California during the second Test (July 20-24). Spain to score.
“These are baseless things that Rohit will be removed from the captaincy. Yes, whether he will last the entire two-year WTC cycle is a big question as he would be close to 38 when the third edition ends in 2025,” a well-known BCCI source told PTI on condition of anonymity.
“From now on I believe Shiv Sunder Das and his colleagues will have to call after the two Tests and watching his batting form.” The BCCI works very differently from other sports organizations.
In Indian governance, those in power believe that you don’t make decisions when criticism reaches crescendo.
“After the West Indies, we have no tests until the end of December when the team travels to South Africa. There is therefore sufficient time for selectors to deliberate and make a decision. By then, the fifth selector (new chairman) will also join the panel and a decision can be made, he added.
Those who are aware of developments in Indian cricket know that when Virat Kohli stepped down from the Test captaincy after a defeat in South Africa, Rohit was initially not very keen on becoming the longest format leader as he didn’t know if his body would hold it or not.
“The top two men at the time (former president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah) had to convince him to take the role when KL Rahul failed to impress as captain in South Africa,” said the source.
Other than a classy 120 against Australia on a challenging course in Nagpur, Rohit hasn’t exactly scored the sort of runs expected from a player of his caliber.
Since Rohit took over as Test captain in 2022, India has played 10 Tests and missed three: one in England due to COVID 19 and two in Bangladesh due to split tires.
He scored 390 runs in 7 Tests and averaged 35.45 in 11 completed innings with a single hundred and no other score above 50.
In the same phase, Virat Kohli played all 10 Tests and scored 517 runs in 17 innings, his best of 186 against Australia in Ahmedabad.
Cheteshwar Pujara played eight Tests in the same phase and scored 482 runs in 14 innings with two unbeaten strikes at an average of 40.12. But one has to consider scores of 90 and 102 against a weak attack in Bangladesh.
The selectors know that in the next three years all three big players on the wrong side of 35 cannot form the top of India and therefore hard decisions will be needed looking to the future.