‘Captain leading from behind’ – Fans unhappy as Rohit Sharma uncertain to lead India after first two Tests against West Indies

Rohit Sharma is expected to captain the team India in the West Indies series and probably sit with the Indian Cricket Board to decide about his future. However, the Indian Cricket Board and the national selection committee would be pressured to make tough calls if he fails to score runs during the second Test in Dominica or Port of Spain.

As of the present situation, Rohit Sharma’s captaincy is not under threat. But  India’s skipper will need to put up some huge numbers in the West Indies, in order to save his captaincy in the longer format of the game.

Shiv Sunder Das and his colleagues will have to take a call after the two Tests: Indian Cricket Board

An authoritative of the Indian Cricket Board informed PTI, “These are baseless stuff that Rohit will be removed from captaincy. Yes, whether he will last the whole two-year WTC cycle is a big question as he would be nearly 38 when the third edition ends in 2025.”

He added, “After West Indies, we have no Tests till December-end when the team travels to South Africa. So there is enough time for selectors to deliberate and take a decision. By then the fifth selector (new chairman) will also join the panel and a decision can be taken.”

India has played ten Tests under Sharma’s leadership, three of which he has missed- one in England, due to COVID-19, and two in Bangladesh, owing to split webbing. He scored 390 runs in seven Tests and averaged 35.45 in 11 innings, with one hundred and no other score above 50.

Virat Kohli appeared in all ten Tests, scoring 517 runs in 17 innings, the highest of which was 186 against Australia in Ahmedabad. The selectors realize that in the next few years, the top three major players will turn 35 and will be unable to form India’s top order and that tough decisions would be necessary.

Here how the fans have reacted to the decision