"Would rather have it when I know how to captain a team" - Rohit Sharma opens up about the timing of his captaincy ahead of World Cup 2023
Skipper Rohit Sharma expressed satisfaction with the timing of his Indian captaincy when asked about his preference to be at the helm at the peak of his career rather than the latter stages.
Rohit took over as full-time captain of Team India across formats last year, leading them to be on top of the ICC rankings in Tests, ODIs, and T20Is. He already boasts the second most wins as Indian captain in T20Is with 39 wins in 51 games. He has also registered 29 combined wins in Tests and ODIs.
The 36-year-old also led India to the semifinals of the T20 World Cup last year and the 2021-23 World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Speaking to the Indian Express on the timing of his captaincy, Rohit said that it may have been a blessing in disguise to be experienced when handed the leadership duties.
"That’s life. I got it now and I am grateful for it. I would rather have it when I know how to captain a team, when I know what is required and all. Rather than when I don’t know the ABCD of captaincy. So in that respect, this is good," he said.
The Maharashtra-born cricketer also felt several former players should have led the side, especially 2011 World Cup Player of the Tournament Yuvraj Singh.
"Just look at the names that are missed out - Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag. These are all stalwarts of Indian cricket. Not to forget Yuvraj Singh. He never captained India. Yuvraj has been such a match winner for India, he should have been the captain at some stage but he didn’t get it," he added.
However, Rohit admitted leading the side at the prime of his career would have been ideal but felt it was only fair for him to wait for his turn behind MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli.
"Obviously, you want to be at your peak for this, say when you are 26-27. But you cannot always get what you want. You are talking about the Indian captaincy and there have been stalwarts in the Indian team. Many more players deserved to be the captain of the team. I had to wait for my turn and that’s absolutely fair enough. The guys before, Virat was before me, so was MS (Dhoni)," he expressed.
While Virender Sehwag has led India 17 times across formats, Gautam Gambhir led the side in six ODIs. However, Yuvraj Singh has never captained India despite being the Punjab Kings (PBKS) skipper in the IPL.
Meanwhile, Dhoni led India in 332 games across formats, including winning the 2011 ODI World Cup, the 2013 Champions Trophy, and the 2007 T20 World Cup. On the other hand, Virat Kohli led the side in over 200 games before relinquishing the captaincy role in all formats to Rohit Sharma last year.
"We don’t want any of our pacers to break down" - Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma also felt managing the workload and fitness of the pacers will be the biggest challenge in the upcoming World Cup at home.
While Jasprit Bumrah is coming off a year-long layoff with a back injury, pace-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya has also been notoriously hit with several injuries over his career.
"A team needs to play 11 games to reach the World Cup final. Last time we played this format was in 2019, but to play 11 ODIs in one-and-half months is not easy. It’s a long World Cup. We don’t want any of our pacers to break down. Hence we have selected more of them," he said.
The 15-member World Cup squad includes four pace bowling options apart from Pandya in Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, and Shardul Thakur.
Rohit also dismissed comparisons with the 2011 Indian World Cup squad that emerged victorious by pointing out several differences in experience and role clarity.
"In the 2011 team, everybody was a big name. Did any position change? No. You suddenly didn’t have to bring Harbhajan Singh at number 4-5 because all the guys are match winners in the positions that they play. Now we have a lot of newer faces. We had an injury problem, two players (Rahul and Shreyas) are making a comeback after two months. So, things looked different and selection calls had to be made," he added.
The MS Dhoni-led side defeated Sri Lanka in the 2011 World Cup final to lift the trophy for the second time in their coveted history.
Meanwhile, Team India's quest for a second home World Cup win will begin against Australia in Chennai on Sunday, October 8.