Former India batsman Gautam Gambhir has said that current captain Virat Kohli may be good in the role, but his vice-captain Rohit Sharma is better at it.
“Virat Kohli is not a bad captain, but Rohit Sharma is a better captain. There is a vast difference between the quality of captaincy,” said Gambhir on the Star Sports show Cricket Connected.
Gambhir additionally said that the difference between Kohli and Rohit’s record in the Indian Premier League needs to be taken into account.
With five titles to his name, Mumbai Indians captain Rohit is the most successful captain in the history of the lucrative T20 tournament while Royal Challengers Bangalore skipper Kohli has failed to win the title even once.
The team’s best finish in the league since he took over as captain in 2013 has been runners-up in 2016.
“If we choose players based on IPL performance, then why don’t we choose a captain based on IPL performance? Else, don’t keep IPL has a barometer for batting and bowling performances as well,” said Gambhir.
Gambhir added that it was important to give Rohit the responsbility right away because of two T20I World Cups being in the offing in 2021 and 2022.
“If Virat continues being the captain and we don’t win the 2021 World Cup and then decide to make the change to Rohit, it will give Rohit very less time,”
“Rather give Rohit the captaincy now, so that he has two World Cups – I think it is the right time to give him(Rohit) the captaincy in the T20I format now” the 2011 World Cup winner added.