When it comes to captaincy talks, the Indian cricket fans have always got so much to rave about considering the enriching legacy of the captains that the Indian cricket team has seen over the past. May it be Kapil Dev’s world-cup-winning run or may it be Sourav Ganguly’s world-challenging spin in the early 2000s. However, in the preceding decade India has seen a major change of hands for the captaincy armband for three times that started with the all-conquering MS Dhoni followed by Virat Kohli’s rampant spree eventually culminating into Rohit Sharma’s explosive run in and away from home.
As the recent days continue to produce a torrent of heart-thumping performances from India, a major factor that usually defines the argument is how Kohli led the team and how Rohit has replicated the former skipper’s formulae to get the Indian team soaring in all sorts of possible hostile conditions.
Former Indian opener, Gautam Gambhir had a thing or two to say about the Kohli-Rohit debate, drawing that thin line of demarcation that sets apart the two virtuosos of the sport and how both the captains who have been mentioned in this debate transformed India for the good.
As India steamrolled Australia in the two opening Tests of the four-match series, Gambhir highlighted how Virat Kohli sparked this aggressive mindset to change the ballgame entirely for Team India and the rest they say is history.
Talking to Star Sports, Gambhir said, “Honestly, I have always believed that Rohit Sharma is an amazing captain, but there is not much difference between Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s captaincy, especially in this format. Virat Kohli started this template.”
He further added, “Virat Kohli has captained exceptionally well whenever he has captained this Test team and Rohit is probably following that template only. Honestly, Rohit has not created his own template. The way Virat Kohli managed Ashwin and Jadeja, it is absolutely identical captaincy.” India still has a Test to win in order to ensure their WTC final berth and shedding some light on what can be the possible challenge for Rohit Sharma in order to become the finest, Gambhir said, “The real challenge for Rohit Sharma will be when he goes to Australia, South Africa and England because there were big challenges for Virat Kohli there. Virat Kohli has made this team – Mohammad Shami, Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashwin, Jadeja, Axar. Virat Kohli was as successful. So I don’t see too much difference and I don’t even want to say who is a better captain in these conditions because Virat was an equally good captain as Rohit is now. Rohit’s challenge will be overseas.”
