New King of Indian Cricket – Rohit Sharma: Before the World Cup in 2019, Virat Kohli was the undisputed king of Indian cricket. He took the shots — team selection, prioritising tournaments and even coach selection (Ravi Shastri over Anil Kumble). Two years later, the powers have shifted to Mumbai once again with Rohit Sharma becoming the new King of Indian cricket. He will take over the role from India Tour of South Africa. Follow India vs South Africa Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.
India ODI captain: Virat Kohli SACKED, not too pleased BCCI gives…
On Wednesday, the BCCI confirmed the power shift, removing Kohli as the ODI captain, replacing him with Rohit and handing the Mumbai Indians captain the Test vice-captaincy. This is the first time in one and a half decade that BCCI has removed a captain. Sourav Ganguly was the last captain to be removed. And as things stand, Rohit Sharma is likely to replace Kohli as the Test captain should India fail to win the World Test Championship Final in 2023.
New King of Indian Cricket: Massive elevation for Rohit Sharma, after T20 & ODI, check when he will take over as test captain?
The All-India Senior Selection Committee also decided to name Mr Rohit Sharma as the Captain of the ODI & T20I teams going forward.#TeamIndia | @ImRo45 pic.twitter.com/hcg92sPtCa
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 8, 2021
Rohit Sharma captaincy record:
FORMAT | MATCHES | WON | LOST | TIE | NO RESULT | WIN% |
T20I | 22 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 81.81 |
ODI | 10 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 80.00 |
IPL | 129 | 75 | 50 | 4 | 0 | 59.68 |
New King of Indian Cricket: Massive elevation for Rohit Sharma, after T20 & ODI, check when he will take over as test captain?
New King of Indian Cricket – Rohit Sharma: Rohit has had a swift rise. After being deemed not good enough for Test cricket, he worked on his technique in red-ball cricket, announcing his arrival with a 177-run knock in 2013.
Since 2013, he guided Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles surpassing MS Dhoni. He was promoted to ODI and T20 vice-captaincy role after MS Dhoni stepped down as the captain and Virat Kohli took over. And now, he has taken over as the Test vice-captain.
Furthermore, the T20 World Cup proved Rohit Sharma’s elevation in stature. Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel were included after his backing while Kohli was left red-faced. It was Rohit Sharma who managed to bind the team together amid players reporting against Virat Kohli.
New King of Indian Cricket: Massive elevation for Rohit Sharma, after T20 & ODI, check when he will take over as Test captain?
Rohit Sharma ODI captain: What led to Virat Kohli’s exit?
- Results in ICC tournaments were disappointing.
- Under Kohli, India reached Champions Trophy Final in 2017 but lost to Pakistan.
- India lost to New Zealand in 50-over World Cup.
- Had an embarrassing group-stage exit from T20 World Cup.
- BCCI is against split captaincy in white-ball cricket.
- Rohit Sharma has won five IPL titles while his calm demeanour has been welcoming for youngsters.
Rohit Sharma ODI captain: On the other hand, Virat Kohli kept on losing his ground. Even though the team did well in bilateral series at home and abroad, an ICC trophy eluded him. India lost the ICC Champions Trophy Final to Pakistan besides losing the 50-over World Cup, World Test Championship Final and the T20 World Cup 2021. His poor form in the last 12 months didn’t help either.
With no ICC trophy during his tenure, BCCI’s patience waned away. The T20 World Cup was a big test but under Kohli’s captaincy, Team India failed miserably, surrendering to Pakistan in a 10-wicket loss and then to New Zealand in an 8-wicket loss. Team India failed to reach the semifinals stage of T20 World Cup which was hosted by the BCCI. Before that, India lost to New Zealand in the World Test Championship final to the Kiwis.
New King of Indian Cricket: Massive elevation for Rohit Sharma, after T20 & ODI, check when he will take over as Test captain?
Former head coach Ravi Shastri had seen it coming. He predicted Kohli could quit captaincy all together to focus on batting.
“In red ball cricket, India has been the No 1 team in the world for the last 5 years under Virat Kohli. So unless he wants to give up or if he is mentally fatigued and says he wants to focus on his batting – which can happen in the near future,” Ravi Shastri told India Today.
New King of Indian Cricket: Massive elevation for Rohit Sharma, after T20 & ODI, check when he will take over as Test captain?