NEW DELHI: Since Virat Kohli stood down as India s Test captain following a disappointing South Africa tour in January this year, India have had six different captains in different formats so far. Apart from regular captain Rohit Sharma and vice captain KL Rahul, the likes of Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah have also got the opportunity to lead India. And it was not because Rohit was battling multiple injuries. It was because he along with Rahul and other seniors took frequent breaks to manage their workload and stay fresh for the big tournaments. KL Rahul has led India eight times this year. Dhawan has captained India in six ODIs. He is slated to lead India in the three ODIs in New Zealand so his tally will be nine. Rishabh Pant captained India in five T20Is against South Africa, Hardik Pandya s captaincy number will rise to five after the three T20Is against New Zealand , while Bumrah led India in a Test match against England.While it is true that India have the bench strength to field two different teams at the same time but the frequent absence of the core group has had an adverse impact on India s performance in multi nation tournaments.
They failed to reach the finals of the Asia Cup and were knocked out of the semi finals in the T20 World Cup.Former India cricketer Ajay Jadeja, during a discussion on cricketers keeping themselves fresh for franchise leagues by opting out of international commitments, with former New Zealand pacer Simon Doull, took an indirect at Rohit Sharma for the frequent breaks he takes.Jadeja and Doull were asked about New Zealand pacer Trent Boult opting out of the central contract to focus more on franchise leagues during the post match show on Amazon Prime Video after the series opener in Wellington was washed out without a ball being bowled.Doull said he doesn t mind players like Boult going the franchise way as they have served their country for long but he will worry about the future of international cricket when young players start to do the same. Jadeja echoed Doull s sentiments and added that time may not be far. If any young cricketer is not playing for the country, he has the opportunity to go around the world and experience playing in global T20 leagues . But if somebody is playing for their country and the team needs them and they are away for playing in the leagues then there s a problem, especially in India as we are emotional people.
I know it s not gonna happen but it s natural. If I was 22, and I had the opportunity to go around the world, maybe I d say I want to take a break from the Bangladesh tour or I won t go on tours which aren t very exciting. Against the biggest teams in the world, nobody is gonna miss it but it s the small teams that will suffer. And there are a lot more teams now. The associate nations are getting better, so you will have more tours and you ll find more players taking breaks. Not just players, even captains at the moment, said the former India cricketer with a sheepish look.India s big guns Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli were rested from the New Zealand tour after the T20 World Cup.Among the few changes veterans and experts have called for after India s yet another disappointing outing in the T20 World Cup, split captaincy was among them. England and Australia were among the first cricketing nations to identify a different red ball and white ball teams led by different skippers. Few had previously questioned if India should go the England way, but the idea of split captaincy was always brushed aside by the BCCI.
But as per reports, the new selection committee is likely to be mandated to choose captains across three formats.The BCCI on Friday sacked the entire Chetan Sharma led National Selection Committee after a poor T20 World Cup result where India lost to England in the semis. BCCI have already called for fresh applicants for the post, the last date of application being November 28.The qualification criteria for the posts remain the same as it was before. Should have played a minimum of 7 Test matches or 30 First Class matches, or 10 ODI and 20 First Class matches, read the official BCCI statement. Should have retired from the game at least 5 years ago and no person who has been a member of any Cricket Committee as defined in the rules and regulations of BCCI for a total of 5 years shall be eligible to be a member of the Men s Selection Committee. According to PTI, their first instruction would however be to pick captains across the three formats. This could mean that Rohit Sharma might retain his captaincy post for ODIs and Test cricket while Hardik Pandya could be looked at as a T20I captain till the 2024 T20 World Cup in USA and West Indies.The report also adds that, the chairman of selectors would have to address the media with regards to team related queries.
