Gautam Gambhir, Michael Vaughan back Rohit Sharma to replace Virat Kohli as India's T20I skipper
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Indian captain, Virat Kohli is facing calls to hand over the white-ball leadership duties to Rohit Sharma after yet another disappointing season in the Indian Premier League with Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Rohit Sharma continued to cement his legacy as one of the finest white-ball captains after leading Mumbai Indians to their fifth Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy after defeating Delhi Capitals in the final of IPL 2020. Now, Indian captain, Virat Kohli is facing calls to hand over the white-ball leadership duties to Rohit Sharma after yet another disappointing season in the Indian Premier League with Royal Challengers Bangalore.
While Rohit has led Mumbai Indians to five IPL trophies, Kohli has failed to win one thus far, prompting calls for the Hitman to take over the captaincy duties of the national T20 side.
India are set to leave for Australia this week to start a two-week quarantine phase before playing three T20Is, as many ODIs and four Tests.
Following the IPL final, former India batsman Gautam Gambhir and ex-England captain Michael Vaughan said Sharma should take over as the national T20 captain.
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"Rohit has won five IPL titles; he is the most successful captain in the history of the tournament," Gambhir told ESPNcricinfo.
"Going forward, it'll be a shame if he doesn't get India's white-ball (one-day) or just T20 captaincy."
Rohit has completely transformed Mumbai Indians since taking over the charge from Australian great Ricky Ponting in 2013, and all five of their trophies have come under his leadership.
Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore had bowed out in the playoffs in IPL 2020, after two bottom-placed finishes in the previous three editions.
Vaughan also backed Sharma to become India's T20 leader.
"Without question, Rohit Sharma should be the Indian T20 captain," he wrote on Twitter, describing him as a "fantastic man manager and leader".
"He knows exactly how to win T20 games. It would also give Virat a chance to take a breather and just be the player."
Vaughan said relieving Kohli of the captaincy was not "an admittance of failure", but rather "what is best for the Indian cricket team".
Meanwhile, Rohit is not part of India’s ODI and T20I sides for Australia as he is still ‘recovering’ from a hamstring injury that saw him miss four IPL matches.
The 33-year-old will be part of the four Tests, however, while Kohli will miss three of them as he is taking paternity leave after the opening match in Adelaide.