Former Indian cricketer and world cup hero Gautam Gambhir has lauded the appointment of Rohit Sharma as team India’s regular limited-overs skipper. Earlier this year, Virat Kohli announced his decision to step down from the position of T20I captain after the T20 World Cup.
On Wednesday, the selectors announced their decision not to retain Kohli as the ODI skipper as well. Rohit Sharma was named as India’s new white-ball skipper, while Virat Kohli will continue to lead the Indian cricket team in the longest format of the game.
Rohit Sharma replacing Virat Kohli as the ODI skipper of team India has become one of the most talked-about topics in the cricket fraternity off-late. While many have lauded the BCCI for this bold step, there are many who believes that split-captaincy might not work with team India.
Talking about the recent captaincy shift, during an interaction on the Star Sports show Follow the Blues, Gautam Gambhir appreciated BCCI’s decision of making Rohit Sharma the white-ball captain. He said:
“I think it’s good for Indian cricket that now we have got two captains, one in red-ball cricket and one in white-ball cricket, so Rohit will get enough time to groom white-ball cricket – whether it is the T20 format or ODI format.”
Gambhir feels that Sharma will take the Indian cricket team to new heights as a skipper. He said:
“I feel Rohit Sharma as a leader will definitely do really well for Indian cricket. Plus Indian cricket is in very safe hands, especially in white-ball cricket.”
Further, Gambhir highlighted the leadership qualities of Rohit Sharma, while stating the fact that he is one of the most successful skippers in the Indian Premier League, having won the IPL title for five times. He said:
“He has won five IPL titles. He must be doing something right as compared to other captains.”
He said:
“At the same time, his calmness and sometimes his laidback attitude as well, keeping things very relaxed. At the same time, not pushing players too hard, and he himself is a very chilled-out character, which actually helps the entire squad.”
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma kickstarted his captaincy stint in a blockbuster way as he led the Indian team to a clean sweep victory against the Kiwis in the recently concluded T20I series against New Zealand. Fans are expecting him to carry on with the same momentum in upcoming South Africa’s tour as well.
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