Indian cricket has never been comfortable with the split captaincy. India have had two different captains – Anil Kumble and MS Dhoni and then Dhoni and Virat Kohli – at the same time in the past but that was only possible because one of them didn’t play the other format. Kumble didn’t play white-ball cricket when Dhoni was leading in ODIs and T20Is. Dhoni had retired from Tests when Kohli was leading in red-ball cricket.
Currently, things are a bit different. The split captaincy is all but official in Indian cricket. Several experiments have been done with a number of cricketers serving as the skipper in different series. After former skipper Viral Kohli stepped down from the role, a number of senior and junior players like Shikhar Dhawan, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya and Rishabh Pant got the opportunity to lead the Indian unit in absence of all formats’ designated captain Rohit Sharma. However, veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin who has been serving India for more than a decade has never been appointed as the team’s captain.
When asked about this, the 36-year-old revealed to The New Indian Express that his dream is alive and he would be looking forward to the opportunity of leading India.
“Once I hang up my boots, I think I’ll have an answer for that. But until then my dreams will be open, and I’ll be looking forward to opportunities,” Ashwin said.
Previously, Ashwin captained the IPL team Punjab Kings in two seasons – 2018 and 2019. But he failed to produce anything special during his tenure.
As rumours have been buzzing around referring to Rohit Sharma shifting his focus only to ODIs and Tests, India’s T20I captaincy demands a permanent name. Putting light on the matter, Ashwin kept Hardik Pandya in the front to be the top contender for India’s next permanent white-ball captain.
Showing faith in Pandya’s leadership skills, Ashwin stated that the cricketer’s calm and cool attitude will be a key component in bringing success.
“As he is smart as well as chilled, I think he will keep the team atmosphere pretty relaxed and players will perform as a unit,” Ashwin asserted.
Pandya has already recorded three T20I series victories as the skipper including the just-finished one against Sri Lanka which India won 2-1. Earlier in 2022, he steered Gujarat Titans to the IPL trophy in their debut season.
Meanwhile, ahead of the first ODI against Sri Lanka, Rohit Sharma shut the rumours about his retirement from the shortest format during a press conference in Guwahati on Monday. He clarified that he has not come to a decision yet and will think about it after this year’s IPL. The India opener further spoke about playing the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand slated at the end of January on home soil.
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