Rohit Sharma will replace Virat Kohli as T20I captain, don’t see discussions on it: Madan Lal

World Cup-winning former India fast bowler Madan Lal on Thursday said he doesn’t foresee any discussion on who will lead India after Virat Kohli steps down as T20I captain, saying Rohit Sharma is an obvious choice for the role.

Madan Lal, who is also the chief of the Cricket Advisory Committee, said Rohit Sharma’s experience of having led Mumbai Indians to as many as 5 Indian Premier League titles will come in handy if he takes over as India’s next T20I captain.

Virat Kohli on Thursday announced that he will step down as India’s T20I captain after the upcoming T20 World Cup, starting October 17 in Oman and the UAE. Kohli maintained that he will continue to lead India in ODIs and Tests.

However, Madan Lal believes that If Rohit Sharma gets the opportunity to lead the T20I team and does well, there is a chance that the selectors might discuss his name for ODI captaincy as well.

“I don’t think there will be any discussion about someone else’s name because i think Rohit Sharma will become T20I captain. His performances in IPL as Mumbai Indians captain has been very good. BCCI secretary Jay Shah has spoken about the roadmap. In that case, Rohit Sharma was the vice-captain, he has a lot of experience having been Kohli’s deputy,” Madan Lal told AajTak.

Also Read: BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly on Virat Kohli’s decision

“I don’t think there will be any discussion on that. But we have to see whether the selectors will discuss a 50-over captain. Till now, Virat Kohli has led well in ODIs and Tests. He hasn’t won an ICC title but he has won helped build strong bench strength.

“It depends on how Rohit Sharma performs. If he does well in T20 World Cup (next year), then there will be discussion about him in the selection meeting. It is possible that if he produces good results, he can also be made captain of the 50-over format.”

Rohit Sharma has led India to Asia Cup glory in the past in the T20 format. The Mumbai Indians skipper has a fine record as captain in the shortest format of the game, winning 15 out of 19 T20Is as India’s captain. Rohit had taken up the role in Kohli’s absence in the past.

Split captaincy is the way forward: Sunil Gavaskar

Meanwhile, batting great Sunil Gavaskar, speaking to AajTak, said he thinks split captaincy might be the way forward for India.

India have had split captains in the past with MS Dhoni leading the limited-overs side between 2014 and 2017 after he retired from Tests. Kohli was leading the Test side in the said period before he took over as all-format captain after Dhoni stepped down in 2017. Dhoni continued to play under Kohli’s leadership until he retired from international cricket in 2020.

“When I read the resignation letter, he himself mentioned he deliberated it with Rohit Sharma, Ravi Shastri, Sourav Ganguly, Jay Shah and the selectors. Only after all that, he has taken the decision. It seems to be a personal decision. He has discussed it with everyone,” Gavaskar said.

“But there were a lot of rumours in the last 6 months. Those would have given him a hint that the BCCI and the selectors were not satisfied. I think he must have thought of quitting captaincy and hand it over to someone else.

“It seems split captaincy might be the way forward. In his announcement, he has said he will continue to lead in ODIs. So it’s his decision and not the selector’s decision, I think. A decision will be taken as to whether he will lead in white-ball cricket. When it comes to Tests, there is no doubt that Kohli should continue. There are no doubts about his Test captaincy. But for ODIs, it remains to see whether the selection committee will discuss it.”

Kohli will lead India for the first time in the T20 World Cup in October-November. India begin their campaign against Pakistan on October 24 in Dubai.