Aakash Chopra feels Rohit Sharma has the credentials of leading India at the highest level

Aakash Chopra believes that Rohit Sharma is a perfect choice for captaincy should Team India start looking for different options. 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.

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'Rohit is a very good captain': Aakash Chopra

“Rohit is a very good captain. Whenever he has been the captain, be it for Mumbai Indians or for India in the absence of Virat Kohli, he has been very good,” said Aakash Chopra while interacting on Sawera Pasha’s Youtube show.

“India is blessed. If India feels 6 months or 1 and a half years down the line that we need a change of guard… I don’t think Kohli’s performance will get affected. He has reached that level wherein he won’t come down from there. His performances will be unaffected regardless of whether he is the captain or not. But as a team, sometimes you want a different direction. If you reach that stage, then Rohit Sharma is a readymade choice available. But till then, you need to persist with Kohli, he is improving as captain,” the former Test opener added.

“If he has a good bowling attack, like the one he has in Tests, he is a fine captain who knows how to handle the bowlers well. But if he doesn’t have good bowlers, just like the case at RCB, then he is also not that aggressive. For the next 10-12 months, I think it will be Kohli. But after that, if you are looking for a change of guard."

 "I wish India wins an ICC event soon because after 2013 we haven’t won anything. There is a T20 World Cup in India as well. Hopefully, India should win one of these 2. If they don’t win, then you may start thinking let’s look for a change in leadership and find a different tone now,” the cricketer-turned-commentator/analyst further added.
 

(Image Courtesy: AP)