On Wednesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed Rohit Sharma as Team India’s new One-Day International (ODI) skipper. The seasoned opener succeeds Virat Kohli, who has had an outstanding run as India’s 50-over captain. Reports of Rohit replacing Kohli have been circulating for some time, and the BCCI revealed the happenings when it named India’s Test team for the next South Africa visit.
Interestingly, post completion of the T20 World Cup, Kohli stepped down as India’s T20I captain. As Rohit eventually took over as captain in the shortest international format, he will now captain India in all white-ball matches. The swift beginning would be delighted to reach the heights. Furthermore, he believes Kohli will play an important role in the ODI and T20I teams.
Virat has batted and bailed India out so many times from difficult situations: Rohit Sharma
The experienced opener praised Kohli’s contributions to Indian cricket, saying that a hitter of his calibre is essential to the team. “A batter of his (Kohli’s) quality is always needed in the squad. To have an average of 50 plus in the T20 format, it is crazy and unreal. Obviously, with the experience… he has batted and bailed India out so many times from difficult situations,” said Rohit.
“The quality and his kind of batsmanship is required. Plus, he is still a leader of the team. All those things put together, you don’t want to miss out. You don’t want to ignore that kind of stuff. His presence is very important to the team,” the 34-year-old added.
Furthermore, it has been claimed that BCCI selectors made the ultimate decision on Rohit’s selection as ODI skipper. Kohli has declared that he will continue to captain the side in Tests and One-Day Internationals. The selectors, on the other hand, thought it preferable to give the chance to the versatile opener.
“The BCCI wanted absolute clarity between red-ball and white-ball cricket. The BCCI wanted a complete (leadership) separation between the longest format and shorter formats to avoid any confusion. In the end, it was left to the selectors to take a call. They decided to appoint Rohit as new ODI captain,” quoted a BCCI official.
