Rohit Sharma can become captain if Virat Kohli is overloaded: Yuvraj

Former Indian cricketer, Yuvraj Singh has suggested that Rohit Sharma, the current vice-captain of the Indian cricket team, can possibly be considered for T20I captaincy if Virat Kohli feels that he has been "overloaded" by leading the side in all three formats. Rohit Sharma has led Mumbai Indians to four titles in the Indian Premier League. Yuvraj said it won't be a bad idea for India to try out split captaincy to ease the workload of Kohli. Apart from that, Yuvraj also took a dig at the team management for getting the crucial number 4 position wrong in the ICC World Cup in England earlier this year. 

Yuvraj Singh’s views on splitting captaincy 

Yuvraj Singh has said that “Earlier there used to be just two formats -- ODI and Tests, so it was perfect to have one captain. Now there are three formats and if Virat is feeling overloaded, maybe they should try somebody else for the T20 format. Rohit has been a very successful captain. I don't really know. They (team management) must decide how much workload Virat can take. Do they need to try somebody else for T20? It completely depends on how they want to go for the future. Virat has been the best batsman. How to manage his workload? It is completely team management's call.” 

Read: 'Sarfaraz shouldn't continue as Test Captain': Former Pak skippers

He explained that a cricketer needs a sense of security to excel. He said, "You need to identify who is your best talent and then back him. The highest score in number 4 position at the World Cup was 48. The captain, coach and the selectors should have known that number 4 is a very important position, especially in England where the ball seams. The number 4 batsman must be technically strong. Vijay Shankar didn't have that experience, Rishabh Pant didn't have the experience." 

“Dinesh Karthik was an experienced guy who was sitting out and suddenly went to bat in the semifinal. I really didn't understand what the think-tank was doing. If you had to get the best out of a player, you must secure him. A player can never play well if he is insecure. That was the big reason why India didn't win the World Cup," Yuvraj added. 

Read: Rohit Sharma: The star Indian cricketer's life outside the game

Pakistan Cricketers also want a captaincy split 

Shahid Afridi, a few days ago while talking to the media in Karachi, said that while the decision to retain Sarfaraz as the Captain of the ODI and T20 squads was sensible, he might not the perfect choice for red-ball format. "I think it would be better for him if Sarfaraz didn't become the Test captain because I think captaining in three formats is a big burden for him. He is naturally inclined to be a successful captain in the limited over cricket formats," Afridi said. Sarfaraz has led Pakistan in all three formats since 2017 after the retirement of Misbah-ul-Haq but faced plenty of criticism in the longest format where Pakistan has slid down to 7th in the ICC rankings. 

(With PTI Inputs)

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