With Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announcing Rohit Sharma as India’s ODI captain going forward, the speculations have come to an end. Rohit is now India’s captain in white-ball format whereas Virat Kohli will continue his leadership role in the red-ball format where he has excelled (minus the World Test Championship final defeat).
However, the decision comes as a surprise as Kohli had wished to continue as ODI skipper when he announced he will be stepping down as T20I captain after T20 World Cup 2021. It indicates that there is a different story going on behind the curtains and Kohli is not on the same page as the selectors as he was removed despite not playing a single ODI since the announcement. Meanwhile, Kohli is yet to react to the news which seems natural. Earlier, head coach Ravi Shastri had hinted in an interview with India Today that Kohli may give up to focus on his batting which again raises eyebrows as the announcement did not come from him this time around.
It is quite clear that the decision was not taken overnight and Rohit has slowly slid into the captaincy role with Kohli not been able to add a major ICC trophy to the cabinet. While the 33-year-old’s bilateral series record is impeccable, the inability to win at knockout stages has led to the bold decision. Otherwise, the selectors would not have been able to justify removal of Kohli as captain despite a winning percentage of 68 per cent, which is one of the best in the format’s history considering the number of matches he has played.
Clearly, the eight-year-long wait for an ICC trophy followed by India’s early exit from T20 World Cup 2021 turned out to be the final blow to Kohli’s captaincy role.
There comes a time in every captain’s tenure when the pressure of not winning major ICC trophies takes a toll on individual performances as well. The two-year century drought is a major concern considering the stature of Kohli as a batter. Also, the selectors want to give Rohit time before the 2023 World Cup to build a team that will repeat the heroics of 2011 World Cup.
The batting numbers
Not just his captaincy, Rohit’s numbers in the year 2021 coupled with his presence in all formats of the game seems to have played a major role as he has been named as vice-captain for Test team as well.
In this calendar year, Rohit has been India’s top performer in two formats. The 34-year-old has scored 424 runs in 11 T20Is in 2021 with an average of 38.54 including five half-centuries compared to Kohli’s 299 runs from 10 games at an average of 74.75 including four half-centuries.
In the ODI format, the two have not played too many matches to draw a comparison this year. In three matches Rohit and Kohli have scored 90 and 129 runs respectively.
In the Test format, there is a stark difference between the two. While the Delhi-born batter has scored 483 runs from 17 innings at an ordinary average of 28.41 including four half-centuries, Rohit has 906 runs from 21 innings. The opener has an average of 47.68 including two centuries and four half-centuries. He is India’s leading run-scorer with in the Test format in 2021 followed by Rishabh Pant with 706 runs.
IPL captaincy
Rohit is the most successful Indian Premier League (IPL) captain, even ahead of the legendary MS Dhoni. Rohit has led Mumbai Indians (MI) to five title wins whereas Kohli could take the team into the final only once in his tenure. Rohit has been once again retained as captain for the Mumbai-based franchise whereas Kohli stepped down from the role. MI have won 79 out of 134 games with a winning percentage of 60.44 compared to Kohli’s 48.16 winning percentage with 64 wins from 140 games.
