Rohit Sharma’s challenge as India captain of all formats is to manage players amidst a grueling schedule: Sunil Gavaskar

Sport

Rohit Sharma, who was succeeded by Virat Kohli as India’s limited captain, was also named Test captain, with the selection committee stressing that the star opener is ready to take charge in all 3 formats.

Rohit Sharma led India to a 3-0 win over West Indies in the T20I series in Kolkata (AP Photo)

HIGHLIGHTS

  • Rohit Sharma takes over as Indian captain in all formats
  • India has a busy schedule in the further year of the T20 World Cup
  • India meets Sri Lanka in a 3-game T20I series starting Thursday

Legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar said Rohit Sharma’s biggest challenge as captain of all formats will be ensuring players are at their best mentally and physically at all times in a busy schedule. Rohit, who took over and was India’s T20I and ODI captain after last year’s T20 World Championship appointed Test Captain also last week.

Rohit has stressed the importance of finding the right balance between offering opportunities to players and performing well in major tournaments, and Gavaskar believes it is the captain’s and team management’s duty to ensure players are fit for the challenges ready amid a “grueling schedule”.

India, who rose to No. 1 in the ICC Test rankings after beating the West Indies 3-0 in a T20I series on Sunday, will play Sri Lanka in a three-Test series as early as Thursday. The T20I series will be followed by a 2 Test series from March 4th, after which the 2022 Indian Premier League (IPL) is scheduled to start from the last week of March.

India also have the T20 World Cup later this year before which they play T20Is against South Africa, a test match and 5 T20Is against England.

“I think the challenge is to get the players to play at the highest level mentally and physically because there is so much cricket that not only the Indian team plays but international cricket as well.” , Gavaskar told Star Sports.

“There will be 2 months of IPL and then 5 T20Is against South Africa and then that one off test in England followed by the T20i series there. It’s a busy schedule. So how to manage the players in terms of their form and fitness are concerned. That will be the biggest challenge for Rohit and the team management,” he added.

Rohit has started well as the full-time captain of India with 3-0 wins over New Zealand in the T20Is and West Indies in both the ODIs and T20Is. He will be in charge of the Test team for the fourth time when India take on Sri Lanka in a two-game series in March.

SELECTORS BACK ALL FORMAT CAPTAIN ROHIT

Rohit himself has struggled with his fitness as he missed the important tour of South Africa with a hamstring injury. Questions have been asked about Rohit’s fitness and his ability to take over India’s all-format captain from Virat Kohli, but chief selector Chetan Sharma said last week the Mumbai Indians captain is ready for the top job in all three formats for India.

“Rohit Sharma is the No. 1 cricketer in our country. He plays in all three formats. It matters how we deal with Rohit. Cricketers are professionals, they know their bodies. Rohit is absolutely fine, but yes we will Talks take him from time to time. As far as the selection committee knows, he is absolutely fit and well and ready to go,” Sharma had said.

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