3 players who can replace Rohit Sharma as India's Test captain for WTC 2023-25
Rohit Sharma failed to lead the Indian team to the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) title this year. His record of not losing a final as a captain at the grand stages has come to an end with India suffering an embarrassing 209-run loss against Australia in the WTC 2023 final.
BCCI named Rohit Sharma as India's new Test captain in the first half of 2022. He led India to a 2-0 home series win against Sri Lanka but missed the away matches against England and Bangladesh. He returned to lead India in the 2023 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series at home, and India beat Australia 2-1 in the series.
Fans had high hopes from captain Rohit Sharma in the WTC 2023 Final, but he could not get the best out of the team. Quite a few cricket experts even questioned the playing XI selected as well as the decision to bowl first in a final.
Now that India have lost the WTC Final, some fans of the team are demanding a new captain.
It is pertinent to note the Indian team would have needed a new Test captain even if Rohit Sharma had won the WTC. The star opener is 36 years of age and has missed a few important Tests due to injuries in the recent past.
Plus, Sharma is also the team's ODI and T20I captain. Leading the team in all three formats can take a toll on any individual, which is why many believe split captaincy for red-ball cricket and white-ball cricket is be the way forward.
With a new two-year cycle of World Test Championship set to begin soon, here's a list of three players who can replace Rohit Sharma as India's captain.
#1 Will Rohit Sharma hand the Indian team's reins back to Virat Kohli?
Virat Kohli stepped down as Indian Test captain in early 2022. It was later revealed that there were some issues between BCCI officials and Kohli, which reportedly led to him quitting the Test captaincy.
Kohli returned as Royal Challengers Bangalore's captain for a few matches in the 2023 edition of the Indian Premier League. The BCCI's management has changed now as well.
If the new selectors and President can convince Kohli, he might just be the best option to captain Team India.
#2 Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane has unleashed a new version of himself on the cricket field this year. The right-handed batter has shown a lot of intent and positive approach while batting for his teams.
Rahane has an excellent record as a captain in Tests as well. He led the Indian team to a famous Test series win on Australian soil in 2020-21 in Kohli's absence. If India want a short-term captaincy option for the 2023-25 WTC cycle, Rahane, who was also their best batter in the WTC 2023 Final, might be a great choice.
#3 Shubman Gill
Shubman Gill is just 23 years, but he has already achieved a lot of success in international cricket. The right-handed batter has cemented his place in the Indian Test team and has impressed the fans with his batting in India as well as overseas.
Gill may not have captained India before, but he led India 'C' to the finals of Deodhar Trophy in 2019-20. Seniors like Suryakumar Yadav, Dinesh Karthik, Mayank Agarwal and Axar Patel played under his captaincy in that tournament.
After Gill scored a double hundred in ODIs, Sunil Gavaskar heaped praise on him and said that he has the head of a 35-year-old on his shoulders. Since he has a decent amount of experience under his belt and a lot of cricket left in him, Gill could be India's captain for the next six-eight years.
It's worth noting that the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and KL Rahul will be around for a few more years. They may even be able to help Shubman Gill with the decision-making in his early days.