Virat Kohli, who stepped down as T20I captain of the Indian Cricket Team, after the conclusion of their World Cup campaign in 2021, has been replaced as India’s one-day international skipper by Rohit Sharma.
While selecting India’s 18-man Test squad for the next three-match series against South Africa, BCCI tweeted, “The All-India Senior Selection Committee also agreed to appoint Mr Rohit Sharma as the Captain of the ODI and T20I teams moving forward.”
Rohit assumed the captain’s job in the shortest format after Kohli indicated that he would stand down from the post to manage his workload better. However, Kohli has made it plain that he wanted to head India’s ODI and Test teams for the foreseeable future. Naturally, BCCI’s move seemed to be more imposition than something to which Kohli had given his consent.
Sourav Ganguly speaks on the decision
Sourav Ganguly, President of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), and the panel of selectors chaired by Chetan Sharma talked to Kohli, noting the notion of avoiding two different cultures leaders in separate white-ball forms.
“Ultimately, the BCCI and selectors came at this conclusion jointly. Actually, the BCCI had urged that Virat Kohli not stand down from his position as T20I captain, but he clearly did not accept. And the selectors did not believe it was appropriate to have two separate captains for two distinct white-ball forms,” stated Ganguly according to Timesnownews.com.
“The decision was made that Virat would remain as Test captain and Rohit will take over as white-ball skipper. Virat Kohli has been talked to directly by me, as President, and he has also been spoken to personally by the head of selectors. We have complete trust in Rohit Sharma’s ability to lead, and Virat will continue to serve as the Test captain. The Board of Control for Cricket in India is sure that Indian cricket is in excellent hands. We express our gratitude to Virat Kohli for his efforts as skipper in the white-ball format,” the BCCI president said.
Rohit Sharma’s salary as the limited-overs captain
According to GQ, Rohit’s income would not be affected by the BCCI. Along with Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah, he receives a salary of INR 7 crore a year as part of an A+ contract.
Meanwhile, leadership is nothing new for Rohit Sharma, who has an unsurpassed track record as the captain of his IPL club Mumbai Indians, having guided the side to five championships since taking over as the team’s captain in 2013.
Eight of his 10 ODIs as the captain had ended in victories, including the 2018 Asia Cup when he stood in for Kohli in his absence. Rohit has won 18 of his 22 games in the shorter format, including three in his first series as the full-time skipper against New Zealand at home.
