India had been having a solid run across formats in the home season this year. Defeating Sri Lanka and New Zealand in both limited-overs formats as well as retaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia with commanding wins in Nagpur and Delhi, things appeared to be fairly on track for the Indian team.
An ODI series loss against the Aussies on the eve of the Indian Premier League (IPL) did dampen the mood somewhat, but the home season otherwise was considered to have been a successful one from their perspective.
A lot however, has changed over the course of the past week; it took a little over five days’ worth walloping at the hands of the Australian team to not only shake the morale of the Indian dressing room, but to put a question mark over skipper Rohit Sharma’s future as the India skipper. At least in the Test format, for now.
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One of the key deliverables for Rohit after his rise to captaincy across formats in place of Virat Kohli was to deliver India ICC trophies, something that his predecessor had failed to achieve despite being considered one of the greatest leaders the country’s ever had.
Rohit, who has five IPL titles besides an Asia Cup victory to his credit, managed to do one better than Kohli by leading the Men in Blue to the semi-finals of the 2022 T20 World Cup after a first-round exit the previous year. However, a comprehensive thrashing at the hands of England in the semis, combined with his poor run in the shortest format, gave the BCCI a solid reason to look elsewhere as far as the T20I captain is concerned.
Hardik Pandya has been captaining India in T20Is for the most part since that defeat in Adelaide. Though not officially confirmed, with communication not exactly the BCCI’s strong suit, Pandya is seen not as the leader in the shortest format, but both limited-overs formats down the road.
The defeat against Australia in the WTC final, meanwhile, has led to similar questions against Rohit in the five-day format as well. While the team appeared lacklustre in all departments against the Aussies at The Oval, Rohit was slammed for some of his decisions including opting to field and benching senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
Uncertainty looms over Rohit’s captaincy
Whether the BCCI will give Rohit an extended run after the two Tests in the Caribbean will come down to his form with the bat, according to a source in the know of things in the board.
“Yes, whether he will last the whole two-year WTC cycle is a big question as he would be nearly 38 when the third edition ends in 2025.
“As of now, I believe that Shiv Sunder Das and his colleagues (selection committee) will have to take a call after the two Tests and looking at his batting form.
“After West Indies, we have no Tests till December-end when the team travels to South Africa. So there is enough time for selectors to deliberate and take a decision,” the source was quoted as saying according to PTI.
Read | ‘Go and hammer West Indies 2-0, 3-0’: Gavaskar tells India after WTC Final loss
Whether Rohit makes his final appearance as Test captain in July or goes on to lead the team in the tour of South Africa in December and beyond, one thing’s for certain — that Rohit’s chances of leading the Indian team for the full 2023-25 World Test Championship cycle appears highly unlikely.
Rohit is widely believed to have been hesitant at taking up the job on a full-time basis in the longest format keeping the demands of the sport and his own fitness levels in mind. Rohit, however, was reportedly coaxed into taking up red-ball captaincy along with that in the white-ball formats by BCCI secretary Jay Shah and then-president Sourav Ganguly.
And the concern over his form and fitness has only grown in recent months, leading to speculations that we might be witnessing the final phase of Rohit’s glorious career. And taking the burden of captaincy off his shoulders not only might allow him to focus fully on his performances with the bat and ride into the sunset on a high, but might also allow him and other seniors in the team such as Kohli to groom the next captain and prepare him for the battles ahead.
Who can be the next captain?
Which begs the question as to who might replace him as the leader at the highest level, not just on an ad-hoc basis but for an entire generation, like Kohli did after Dhoni.
Opener KL Rahul hasn’t been too impressive with his leadership, neither at the international level nor in the IPL. And while Hardik Pandya could have been an ideal candidate to captain India in all three formats, with Ganguly among those who want the all-rounder back in whites, his back issues have forced him to manage his workload due to which Pandya hasn’t made an appearance in Tests since 2018, virtually ruling him out of candidacy.
Jasprit Bumrah led India just once, in the delayed fifth Test against England at Edgbaston last year, which they ended up losing by seven wickets. The fact that he hasn’t really proven himself as a leader, along with his own struggles with fitness, doesn’t make him a candidate either.
While the fate of the Indian team appears fairly secure in Pandya’s hands in the white-ball formats, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant’s name has been doing the rounds for quite some time now. India had a fair amount of success the last time they had a wicketkeeper leading the team. And Pant also happens to be among those whose place in the Test side is fairly certain at this point of time.
Though the car accident last December was a setback for him, he is expected to return to action sooner rather than later. Could be as early as this December, exactly a year since the incident.
Team India could also take a punt by going for dashing opener and the next big thing Shubman Gill as their next Test leader. Not only is Gill viewed by many as the next Indian batting superstar, but has also formed an excellent working relationship with the dressing room, especially the senior members of the team.
Who knows, Gill, who has red-ball leadership experience through the 2019-20 Deodhar Trophy, might just turn out to be someone like Graeme Smith, whose appointment as South Africa captain at the tender age of 22 in 2003 was seen as a major risk at the time, but would eventually prove a game-changer for the Proteas down the road.
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