Only the other day, an important Board official underlined the benefits of having separate captains for white-ball and red-ball cricket. Ironically, a few days later, Rohit Sharma was handed Test captaincy to go with his responsibilities of leading the team in the limited-over formats.
Rohit was asked on Wednesday, how he planned to manage his workload going forward. After all, not so long ago, Virat Kohli found the responsibilities of captaining India in all three formats too much to deal with.
Great honour
Rohit’s response was, “It’s a great honour (to lead India). At the moment, I have no issues (with managing workload) and I’m looking forward to playing all the games. The workload always depends on what happens thereafter. You take it day by day, understand what you do and if a break is needed, you take a break.”
Calm and composed as a skipper should be, Rohit avoided being drawn into the ICC World T20 campaign plans.
“I am very clear in my mind how I want to take it forward. We have seen lots of injuries in the squad. We are trying to manage and put a roadmap on how I want to take it forward.”
Asked about a well-rested Jasprit Bumrah as a vice-captain, Rohit said, “It doesn’t matter whether it is a bowler or a batter. It is the mind that matters. Bumrah has a great mind. It's great for him to step into the leadership role.”
Rohit saved his best for Sanju Samson. “Some of the shots you might have seen in the IPL, the pick-up pull, the cut shots, standing and delivering over the bowler’s head. Those kinds of shots are not easy to play. I believe when you go to Australia [where the next T20 World Cup is], you need that kind of shot-making ability. Samson definitely has it in him. I just wish him the best and hope that he utilises his potential to the maximum.”
