This season, Rohit Sharma lifted his fifth IPL trophy as the captain of Mumbai Indians, and his sixth as a player (won as a player with former team Deccan Chargers in 2009). Understandably, the “Kohli vs Rohit” captaincy debate has started all over again. There are talks that Rohit might be India’s preferred captain for the shorter formats.
Virat Kohli has not won any silverware with RCB in his eight years of captaincy. He also doesn’t have much success in the blue jersey. Therefore, netizens have started questioning Kohli’s captaincy finally.
What Rohit Sharma Had To Say About This Most-Asked Question?
A debate has been going on for the last few days whether Rohit Sharma would’ve won the IPL had he been RCB’s captain. Famous commentator and cricket analyst Akash Chopra was one of the prominent names to openly ask this question. Well, Rohit Sharma has finally given an answer and the MI skipper seemingly doesn’t like this gossip at all.
He stated that there was no question of him leading any other team in IPL. He added that the franchise and he himself takes all the decisions together. “Lot of people, I hear say that can he (Rohit) do it with other teams? Firstly, why shall I need to do it with other teams? There is a certain way this franchise wants to go and same direction I want to go as well, both as a player and leader.”
The 33-year-old mentioned that there is a basic difference between MI and the other IPL franchises. While the other teams seek to bring fresh inputs to the squad every season, MI has been successful to hold on to their core squad. Majority of the core team has remained the same for over four years. This increases their coordination and performance. Kieron Pollard for example, has been playing for Mumbai Indians since 2010. MI usually brings in just one or two players every season to fill in the necessary gaps.
What Did The Mumbai Indians Skipper Say Further And What’s Next For Them
“Did this team become good overnight? No. It is just that this franchise does not believe in chopping and changing. And every player, including Rohit Sharma, was available (2011) at auctions. Just that MI picked and believed in building a team.”
Will we see Rohit leading team India in the recent future? Well most probably, no. Virat Kohli has got a big brand value and chopping him down as the captain isn’t going to be so easy. Kohli’s brand value brings in a huge profit to BCCI and the governing body wouldn’t like to let go of it in this period of the pandemic. Moreover, the step could lead to a mass protest by his fans. Also, breaking the trust of their best player would be the last thing BCCI would want right now.
So unless a miracle happens, we are probably not going to see Rohit Sharma as the captain of the Indian National Team. Yet, it seems like the Kohli vs Rohit debate isn’t so easy to settle and it is here to stay.