Rohit Sharma deserves to be India’s next T20I captain: Dilip Vengsarkar

Former cricketer and ex-chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India’s (BCCI) selection committee Dilip Vengsarkar believes that Rohit Sharma should be named as the next T20I captain. Virat Kohli will be stepping down as the skipper for the shortest format of the game, following the conclusion of the upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup.

“Rohit deserves to be India’s next T20 captain because he’s done exceptionally well whenever he’s been given an opportunity. In 2018, India won the Asia Cup under his captaincy. Besides that, he’s been an exceptional captain for the Mumbai Indians,” said Vengsarkar as quoted by The Times of India.

Sandeep Patil, who has also served as the chairman of selectors believes Rohit would be the right man for the role.

“Rohit Sharma has done a great job while leading the Mumbai Indians. I feel that he’s a fit choice to replace Virat as the India T20I captain. Rohit has proved his mettle,” said Patil.

Similar sentiments were shared by former Indian pacer Madan Lal who believes that Rohit is the obvious choice for captaincy.

“I don’t think there will be any discussion about someone else’s name because i think Rohit Sharma will become T20I captain. His performances in IPL as Mumbai Indians captain has been very good. BCCI secretary Jay Shah has spoken about the roadmap. In that case, Rohit Sharma was the vice-captain, he has a lot of experience having been Kohli’s deputy,” said Lal in an interaction with AajTak.

‘Virat Kohli deserves to win T20 World Cup as captain’

Vengsarkar has expressed his desire to see Kohli go out on a high as T20I captain, spearheading the team on to a triumph in the upcoming edition of the T20 World Cup.

“I think he has been an outstanding cricketer and outstanding captain. He has done extremely well as captain and won many matches. But of course, in the T20 format, he has not done really well even in the IPL for his team. They have not been able to win the title even once. IPL would have played in his mind,” Vengsarkar told India Today.

“He would like to concentrate in the Test format, which is very important for India. I thought he would announce any decision after the World Cup. I hope he wins the World Cup because he deserves it. He has worked hard all these years for Indian cricket. I hope he goes out on a high note. Kohli is a world-class batsman and is a good captain, has done extremely well in Tests and ODIs. I guess he would have wanted to concentrate more on Tests,” he added.

“It’s very unfortunate. You cannot guarantee winning in this format. Way back in 2007, we did not guarantee that we would win the World Cup but we won the World Cup. In the Test format, he has been able to do very well. Any team can beat any side in this format. I hope he wins the World Cup because he has worked hard for Indian cricket. He is a world-class player and he wears his heart on his sleeves,” concluded Vengsarkar.