KOLKATA: India captain Rohit Sharma isn’t the ideal choice to lead the team in T20Is, feels former Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team director Joy Bhattacharjya.
After months of speculation about his future with the Indian team in shortest format, having not played a T20I for more than a year following India’s T20 World Cup semi-final loss to England in 2022, Rohit return to the side for the home series against Afghanistan earlier this year in January.
His first T20I appearance in over a year came after BCCI Secretary Jay Shah backed Rohit to lead the team at this year’s showpiece event in the West Indies and USA.
With the tournament approaching, Bhattacharjya has questioned the BCCI’s decision to appoint Rohit as captain. According to him, the appointment has hampered the team.
The decision to appoint Rohit Sharma as India’s captain for the T20 World Cup may have hampered the team. At this point, Sharma is not the ideal choice to lead the team in the T20I format,” Bhattacharjya said
Bhattacharjya feels Rohit is currently out of form and since he is the captain, India will be forced to leave either Yashasvi Jaiswal or Shubman Gill, or ever star batter Virat Kohli, from the 15-man World Cup squad.
“I have the utmost respect for Rohit Sharma and I think he is an amazing cricketer. However, he is currently out of batting form. Virat Kohli, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Shubman Gill are in better form right now and are strong contenders for the opening positions. However, since Sharma is the captain, he will open, meaning one of those in-form players will have to bat lower down the order,” he added.
While he chose star pacer Jasprit Bumrah to captain India, Bhattacharjya explained the reason behind Rohit’s appoitment.
“I would choose Jasprit Bumrah over Rohit Sharma as captain because Bumrah’s skill as a bowler makes him a vital member of the team. Rohit has achieved everything in cricket, but there’s one thing he needs to do; win a World Cup. He won the T20 World Cup in 2007 and wants to end his career on a high note, we call it book-ending. That’s a great thought,” Bhattacharjya explained.
