Former Indian opener Virender Sehwag said it’s important that Indian team management manage the workload of Rohit Sharma, considering the 35-year-old is captaining the team in all three formats of the game. Sehwag suggested that Rohit Sharma can be relieved as the T20I skipper, adding it would allow the star batter to take breaks and be rejuvenated for Tests and ODIs. Notably, Rohit Sharma took over from Virat Kohli as India’s T20I captain last year.
While the BCCI senior selection committee had no second thoughts about appointing Rohit as T20i captain, they also sacked Kohli as the ODI skipper and decided to hand over the reins and handed over the reins of the white-ball teams to the Mumbai Indians skipper. In an unforeseen move, Kohli stepped down as the Test skipper earlier this year after a Test series defeat in South Africa following which the Test captaincy also went to Rohit.
ALSO READ: Mayank Agarwal Leave For England Ahead Of The Edgbaston Test
During a recent chat with PTI, Virender Sehwag said, “If the Indian team management has someone else in mind as captain in the T20 format, then I think, Rohit (Sharma) could be relieved and the following can be taken into consideration going forward. One, that would allow Rohit to manage his workload and mental fatigue, given his age. Two, it would also allow Rohit to take breaks and rejuvenate himself to lead India in both Tests and ODIs.”
In Rohit’s absence due to an injury for the tour of South Africa, KL Rahul was seen leading the ODI team. As recently as last week, Rishabh Pant was leading India in T20Is at home as Rohit had been with the Test regulars in the UK, preparing for the much-anticipated rescheduled Test in Birmingham against England. Hardik Pandya is leading India in Ireland in 2 T20Is in the absence of the big names.
Talking about the same, Virender Sehwag elaborated, “If the Indian think-tank still wants to pursue the same policy, which is, to let one-man leading India in all the three formats, then I still believe Rohit Sharma is the best man for it.”
ALSO READ: Hardik Pandya Reveals The Reason Behind Ruturaj Gaikwad Not Batting In Dublin
Notably, Rohit Sharma will be expected to miss out on the Birmingham Test as the India captain tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday. He is in isolation, being monitored by the BCCI medical team. Rohit was India’s top scorer in the Test series last year, hitting 368 runs, including a hundred and a couple of half-centuries.