Mumbai: Multiple reports suggest that the Board of Control of Cricket in India may back Rohit Sharma to lead the side in ODIs over Virat Kohli in the upcoming tour of South Africa. Not long back, Kohli stepped down as India’s T20 captain and Rohit took over. Now, looks like Kohli will have to hand over the ODI captaincy to Rohit – which would not be a bad thing.
Kohli, who is arguably the best batter in the world, has not got a single century since November 2019 and the critics have not spared him. Every time he walks out to bat, he looks like he is under pressure. The handing over of the ODI captaincy could be a blessing in disguise for Kohli.
This is a matter that is seriously going to be discussed when the team is picked for the upcoming tour of South Africa.
“As of now, it looks difficult that Virat would be able to keep his ODI captaincy but since ODI isn’t important this year with very few matches here and there, one can think of delaying the decision,” a senior BCCI source told PTI.
“But the counter-argument is that why do you want to have separate ideas for two formats and if the majority of people in charge of making decisions feel that Rohit is the man going forward and will get time to prepare a team for the 2023 event,” he said.
On the other hand, Rohit has proved his worth as a captain in the limited opportunities he has got to lead. With the 2023 World Cup due in the next couple of years, it will also give the Mumbai Indians captain time to shape up the side.
