Earlier this month, Indian cricket skipper Virat Kohli announced that he would retire as captain from the T20 format after the completion of the T20 World Cup 2020. This year’s T20 World Cup will be taking place from October 17 to November 14 in UAE and Oman. Rohit Sharma, skipper for Mumbai Indians – the team with the maximum titles in IPL – is quite likely to be Kohli’s successor as captain in the T20 format.
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Veteran Indian cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar, has happily welcomed the possibility of Sharma taking over the captaincy after Kohli. He also expressed that Rohit Sharma should continue leading the team in the next season of the tournament in Australia next year. According to NDTV, Gavaskar has also offered the names of two players for the position of vice-captain. “I think Rohit Sharma (as captain) for the next two World Cups,” Gavaskar remarked on the show, ‘Cricket Connected’.
“You could say they (World Cups) are back-to-back, one starting in a month and another exactly a year from now. So clearly, yes, you don’t want to change too many captains at this particular stage. Rohit Sharma would definitely be my choice for captaincy of the Indian team for both these T20 World Cups,” he added. As for the post of vice-captain, he felt that Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant and Punjab Kings captain K.L. Rahul would be a good fit.
“And then, I’m looking at K.L. Rahul for vice-captain. I would also keep Rishabh Pant in mind because he has been really impressive in the way he has led a star-studded Delhi team and the bowling changes that he has been making in the T20 format, using (Anrich) Nortje and (Kagiso) Rabada in such a clever manner that actually shows a street-smart captain, and you always want a street-smart captain who can read situations and act immediately. So yes, Rahul and Pant are the two guys I would look at as Vice-Captains”, Gavaskar said.
Meanwhile, Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Capitals sit comfortably at the top of the IPL 2021 points table. Royal Challengers Bangalore and Kolkata Knight Riders are also in a safe zone, ranking 3rd and 4th respectively.
