Rohit Sharma has been named India’s new ODI skipper and the opening batsman will take over from Virat Kohli starting the South Africa series in January, 2022.
Rohit was also named as India’s Test vice-captain as the All-India Senior Selection Committee picked an 18-member squad for the upcoming three-match Test series against South Africa. Rohit will take over from Ajinkya Rahane as Test vice-captain.
Rohit, 34, has an impeccable limited-overs captaincy record, especially in the shortest format of the game. He has led Mumbai Indians to multiple Indian Premier League (IPL) titles. In fact, he is the most successful captain in the IPL, even surpassing legendary Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
The clamour for split-captaincy was growing. And with Kohli struggling in Test cricket, the transition will be read as a wise move from the selectors. Kohli himself has cited “workload management” as one of the key areas he needs to work on to prolong an already celebrated career. He clearly prefers Test cricket.
“The All-India Senior Selection Committee also decided to name Mr Rohit Sharma as the Captain of the ODI & T20I teams going forward,” BCCI said in a statement.