Indian skipper Rohit Sharma (Photo | AP)
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma (Photo | AP)

Good start by Rohit, bigger tests ahead

If the last three to four months are anything to go by, Rohit Sharma’s ascension to captaincy in all formats cannot be questioned.

If the last three to four months are anything to go by, Rohit Sharma’s ascension to captaincy in all formats cannot be questioned. Across all three versions, Rohit is yet to lose a single game against three countries (New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka). He has captained in 13 matches (nine T20Is, three ODIs and a Test) and India has won the entire lot. It’s perhaps helped that all 13 have come at home but that shouldn’t take away from the fact that he has hit the ground running at a time when experimentation has been a buzzword because the next editions of the T20 World Cup as well as the 50-over one are in less than 18 months. In these two formats alone, including Rohit, as many as 27 players have been tried in 12 games.

So that’s a big plus point in favour of his captaincy under the new coaching regime. With more white-ball games lined up between now and the T20 World Cup in Australia (notably against South Africa and England), there is opportunity for Rohit and coach Rahul Dravid to further gather information about the ideal combination.

The challenge, though, remains the ability to replicate this performance under pressure situations in world tournaments. Virat Kohli and Ravi Shahtri led the team ably in bilateral events but failed to win a single knockout game in ICC events. Sure, Rohit’s appointment, at the age of 34, can only be a short-term one but it can be successful. However, beating a West Indies team searching for new blood and a depleted Sri Lankan side is one thing. Doing it in a World Cup is what really counts for a team that’s still searching for its first ICC title since the 2013 Champions Trophy.

There is also the small matter of maintaining the same intensity in the longer format where a place in next year’s World Test Championship final should be the aim. If the team is to book a spot, doing well against Australia in early 2023 is imperative. As the numbers suggest, this is a good start but the two biggest challenges for the new captain—the T20 World Cup and the Test series against Australia—will define his tenure.

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