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The captaincy tussle between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and former India skipper Virat Kohli became a huge point of debate after Kohli decided to relinquish his Test captaincy just a day after team India’s 2-1 Test series defeat against South Africa.
Last year, Kohli decided to step down as the T20I skipper of the Indian team and later he was removed from the position of the ODI captain also.
On the other hand, Rohit Sharma is set to lead the Indian team in the upcoming ODI and T20I series against West Indies.
Ponting's comments
In a situation like this, former Australia skipper Ricky Ponting has spoken on the captaincy issue. According to the former Aussie skipper, Rohit “has been a very successful leader” for Mumbai Indians franchise in Indian Premier League (IPL) and also he was successful “when he has led India on a few occasions.”
"I think the proof is in the pudding with what he has done at the Mumbai Indians since that moment on. He has been a very successful leader there and has been when he has led India on a few occasions as well.
“If I go back to what I said at the start about being on top of your game when you take over a captaincy role, then it is pretty hard to argue after what he has done with his Test cricket in the last 2-3 years. He has played as well as anybody in the world through that period of time, and we know how good he is as a white-ball player," the ICC website quoted Ponting as saying.
An easy decision
The 47-year-old former Aussie batsman said that there were few options who could have been the leader of the Mumbai Indians team but “it was really clear” to him that Rohit was the “only one guy” who could lead the team.
"The owners and the team management wanted to know who I thought would be the appropriate person to take over the leadership at the Mumbai Indians. There were a few names thrown around between owners and the other coaches but it was really clear to me that there was only one guy that can lead the team - he was a young guy and his name happened to be Rohit Sharma.
"They (BCCI) will have a decision to make what they want to do with their roles as well, whether they split roles or they want to keep the same captain for all formats,” Ponting recalled.
