Who will be the next India captain in Tests?
This is a major question that selectors now need to answer after Virat Kohli stepped down from his post on Saturday. The last couple of months have been full of commotion for the Delhi-born cricketer. In September, he decided to leave the leadership in the shortest format. Also, he gave up captaincy in the Indian Premier League. A few weeks later, he lost the post in ODIs as the selection committee felt ‘too much of leadership’ in the limited-overs format.
Almost a month later to that incident, Kohli dropped another bombshell on Saturday. Taking to his social media handles, he informed that he would relinquish captaincy in the longest format as well.
The social space was full of congratulatory wishes. After all, Kohli has uplifted the standards of the Indian Test team in the last 7 years. And now, it’s time to find a candidate who would step into the big shoes and take the legacy forward.
What are the possible names?
It has to be seen who sits next to Dravid from now on. The first name that comes to everyone’s mind is Rohit Sharma. He recently got the responsibilities in white-ball format and was about to play Kohli’s deputy in South Africa Tests. But a hamstring injury kept him away from the series. But before considering Rohit as the next skipper in whites, it has to be seen if he manages to match the fitness standards that has been set by the outgoing skipper for a long time now.
Rohit’s rise in Test cricket was quite rapid but his sore fitness caused his absence on many occasions. Even Kohli believes that the Mumbai cricketer has a tactical mind but at the same time, it has to be seen how his body deals with the situation.
The second person in the fray is KL Rahul who recently had the feel of leading the country in a Test match but ended up tasting defeat. As far as his batting records are concerned, he is phenomenal and somewhere replicates Kohli in terms of fitness. He has been agile and athletic and is one of the best fielders in the camp now.
But when it comes to leadership experience, he trails Rohit by some notches. People have seen him leading the Punjab franchise in the IPL, the same tournament in which the MI skipper has a great reputation, but hardly has he impressed by his leadership skills.
Can Ajinkya Rahane make a wild card entry?
Whenever Rahane has stepped up as the captain of India in Tests, the team has reaped magnificent results. Who could forget India’s remarkable comeback in Melbourne in 2021? And similar was the case when he led the pack against World Champions New Zealand in Mumbai recently. If Kohli is aggressive, Rahane is the flip side of the coin – calm and composed but sharp with his strategies.
Despite several positives, the drought of runs is the only obstacle that is between Rahane and India’s captaincy. The past few weeks would have been harsh for the Mumbaikar just because he failed to score at home and away while the experts believe his time is up.
All in all, it’s going to be a tough nut to crack for the board and the fans will expect them to take their time and come up with a name who is worthy. Obviously, head coach Rahul Dravid would have his say in this decision making and who understands the game better than the wall himself?
Get all the IPL news and Cricket Score here
.