Former India opener, Gautam Gambhir reckons that it’s high-time that Rohit Sharma should become the Indian skipper in ODIs and T20Is. He led Mumbai Indians (MI) to victory in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 final against the Delhi Capitals (DC), which was also Mumbai’s record fifth IPL title. Rohit played a knock of 68 runs, as MI chased down a target of 157 at the Dubai International Stadium.
The 2011 World Cup winner Gambhir reckons that it would be India’s loss if such a decision is not taken after Rohit added a sixth IPL title to his trophy cabinet. He has won five times with MI, and once in 2009 while playing for the Deccan Chargers (DC).
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Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Gambhir said, “If Rohit Sharma doesn’t become India’s captain, it’s their loss, not Rohit’s. Yes, a captain is only as good as his team and I completely agree with that, but what are the parameters to judge a captain on who is good and who isn’t? The parameters and benchmark should be the same. Rohit has led his team to five IPL titles”.
Virat Kohli is currently leading the Indian team across the formats, but he hasn’t won a single trophy with the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB). They suffered a loss in the Eliminator this season. Gambhir also went on to compare Rohit to former India skipper MS Dhoni. He said that Dhoni is India’s most successful captain, due to his international trophies and three IPL titles. He said that such a parameter should be used to judge the MI captain too.
The cricketer-turned-politician also reckons that a split-captaincy is feasible for India. Gambhir explained, “They can also consider split-captaincy. No one is poor. Rohit has shown in white-ball cricket how big the difference is between his and Virat’s captaincy. One player had led his team to five titles, the other hasn’t won yet. I’m not saying this because Kohli is a poor captain.”
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He further elaborated, “But he has received the same platform that Rohit has, so you have to judge both of them on the same parameters. Both have been captains in the IPL for the same length of time. I feel Rohit stands out as a leader.”
