Mohammad Azharuddin backed Rohit Sharma as Team India's next Test skipper as Virat Kohli recently stepped down from Test captaincy.
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Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin backed Rohit Sharma as Team India’s next Test skipper. He stated this as Virat Kohli recently stepped down from Test captaincy after India’s 2-1 Test series loss to South Africa. While the Indian selectors have a tough task in hand to find a suitable successor, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul are considered to be the favourites as well.
During a discussion on India News, Mohammad Azharuddin shared his views on this. He responded: “I feel seeing 5-6 years ahead is a long time. You should definitely look forward but need to see immediate as well. Just to look forward, you cannot give to an inexperienced player, which might cause a problem.”
While sharing his thoughts on Rohit Sharma’s fitness issues, the former India captain stated that he wants the swashbuckling opener to take over the leadership role.
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Azharuddin again shared: “I feel Rohit Sharma is a good player and can be a very good captain. He might play cricket for another two or three years, he might play more as well but his fitness will be very important because his hamstring becomes weak repeatedly.”
Mohammad Azharuddin further added that South Africa got the benefit from Rohit’s absence in the recently concluded Test series. Notably, India lost the series by 1-2 as well.
He explained: “His absence in this series also became an advantage for South Africa because he is an attacking player, plays in an attacking fashion as an opener as well. Whatever experience I have and whatever cricket I have played, I feel the captaincy should be given to Rohit only.”
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However, Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the Test series due to a hamstring injury. He won’t be taking part in the upcoming ODI series against the Proteas as well. In his absence, KL Rahul will lead the team. Mohammad Azharuddin also opined on the fact when he was asked whether Rohit Sharma’s age could be a factor for him being appointed captain. He also believed the same skipper across formats should not be a problem as well.
“Agree he is 34 years old, he is not that old. He can play 5-6 years easily, he is a batter. If he had been an all-rounder, I would have thought differently or given a different answer but because he is a batter, it should not be too much of a problem,” Azharuddin concluded.
