Is there a need of split captaincy in Team India? Tom Moody makes a huge claim

Tom Moody revealed whether there is a scope for split captaincy in the Indian Team. A few former cricketers and experts had come up with the concept of 'split captaincy' after India's heartbreaking loss in the World Cup 2019 semi-final against New Zealand. While there were also a few of them who had said that the captaincy should be handed over to Rohit Sharma. 

Tom Moody opens up on split captaincy

“On the [split] captaincy, it really depends. Like for England, Eoin Morgan is not a Test player, he has been, but he is not recognised as a Test player, he is a specialist white-ball cricketer. So it works for them pretty easily, it’s a natural transition,”said Tom Moody during his interaction with the 'Voice of Indian Cricket' Harsha Bhogle on Cricbuzz live.

“With India’s example, which is probably the most high profile example, the only reason I would prefer split captaincy there is purely to preserve the longevity of Virat Kohli. Virat Kohli is a superstar, we all know that. And he is an absolute delight to watch, to compete, as a captain and as a batsman", he added.

"But if you took the white-ball captaincy away from him, for instance, the question and discussion should be can we have this special talent for longer? Because the role of the captain in three formats in any country is a significant role, but in India, it’s another league,” the 1999 World Cup winner further added. 

“It’s a completely different pressure. And I would be concerned that if Kohli maintains all the three captaincy roles, are we losing two-three years of international cricket from one of the game’s greatest-ever players?”, the former Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach wondered.

India under Virat & Rohit's captaincy

Rohit had led India to a Nidhas Trophy tri-series triumph featuring Bangladesh Sri Lanka in March 2018 and then led the Men In Blue to an Asia Cup victory later that year. Sharma was the stand-in-captain on both occasions as regular skipper Virat Kohli was rested. 

Under Virat's captaincy, the Men In Blue have registered a few emphatic wins that include India's first-ever ODI series win in South Africa and then their maiden Test, as well as ODI series, wins on Australian soil later in the year. However, India have failed to win a multi-nation tournament under his captaincy. Under the batting megastar's reign, the two-time world champions finished as the runners-up in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and were knocked out in the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup.

READ: Aakash Chopra Feels Rohit Sharma Has The Credentials Of Leading India At The Highest Level

(Image Courtesy: AP)