Rohit Sharma is a favorite to take over as Test captain. Photo: BCCI
Highlights
- Rohit Sharma is one of the favorites to be named next Test captain
- The captain of the white ball has been appointed assistant to Virat Kohli for the tour of South Africa
- KL Rahul, who was appointed Rohit’s assistant in white-ball cricket, is another candidate for the relief.
Rohit Sharma will make his full-time ODI captaincy debut when he leads the Men in Blue in the opener of the three-game series against West Indies on Sunday February 6. Rohit had taken over as 50-year-old captain after Virat Kohli was sacked in December 2021.
Although he has captained the team in 10 ODIs, this will be Rohit’s first time donning the full-time captain’s hat. He is now the full-time white ball captain of the Indian team and the chances of him taking on the same role in Test cricket are likely.
Following Kohli’s decision to step down, Rohit became the frontrunner as he was appointed vice-captain of the South Africa tour. Responding to the question about the test captaincy, Rohit said he was not focusing on that at the moment and had no idea.
“There’s time for that. I focus on limited overs cricket. Workload management is important. We might lose a few sets because we have to keep changing players, but we’re ready for that. Forget the test captain for now. I have no idea for now. Like I said, we have to focus on the WI and SL series for now, “said the batsman of opening on the eve of the 1st ODI against the West Indies.
Rohit’s stocks in Test cricket have risen since he was promoted to open innings and he has also become one of the stalwarts at bats in the longest format. Rohit’s opening partner KL Rahul is another strong candidate to return to work.
Rahul helped Kohli in the test series in Rohit’s absence and also led the team in the 2nd test. He is currently Rohit’s assistant in white ball cricket.
There are no other competitors in the race and the chances of Rohit or Rahul taking control of the test captain are very likely. The BCCI is expected to announce the next Test captain before the squad announcement for the Sri Lanka series.
