Rohit Sharma in action for Team India (file photo)
Rohit Sharma who is currently leading team India, has recently not been able to participate in all of India's matches since taking over as captain because of injuries and workload management.
Team India's former opener Virender Sehwag reckons that skipper Rohit could be relieved from captaincy duties in the T20 format. According to Sehwag, this step would allow Rohit to manage his workload better.
"If the Indian team management has someone else in mind as captain in the T20 format, then I think, Rohit could be relieved and the following can be taken into consideration going forward," Sehwag said.
"One, that would allow Rohit to manage his workload and mental fatigue, given his age.
"Two, once someone new is appointed as captain in T20s, it would also allow Rohit to take breaks and rejuvenate himself to lead India in both Tests and ODIs," he said.
However, Sehwag further added that if the team management sticks with its current policy of having one captain across the three formats, then Sharma is still an ideal choice.
"If the Indian think-tank still wants to pursue with the same policy, which is, to let one man leading India in all the three formats, then I still believe, Rohit Sharma is the best man for it."
The concept of split captaincy commenced back in 1997 when Australian selectors appointed Steve Waugh as the captain of the then ODI side, and Mark Taylor led the Test team.
However, the Indian cricketing eco-system is slightly different from other countries where multiple power centers across formats work more seamlessly than in the sub-continent.
The concept of split captaincy has not been tried much in Indian cricket for long period. Legendary Kapil Dev has publicly said that split captaincy can't work in Indian cricket as it is not part of "our culture".
India could have had split captaincy for an extended period when Rohit was made the white-ball captain last year. However, Kohli resigned from Test captaincy soon after, elevating Rohit as the all-format skipper.
(Inputs from PTI)
