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Veteran cricketer Virat Kohli has a great chance to captain India again as chaos continues to mount in the Indian dressing room. Rumors of Kohli’s captaincy come at a time when pressure continues to mount on captain Rohit Sharma for India’s poor results.
India head coach Gautam Gambhir is also believed to be facing scrutiny for the disappointing results. There have been questions about Gambhir’s ability to manage the team, which is low on confidence after a poor performance against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
Read also: ‘Virat Kohli wants to pick up a fight’: RCB teammate makes serious allegations
Rohit Sharma’s last Test series
Recent reports have suggested an unease in the Indian dressing room which has made it difficult for Rohit Sharma to remain in the Test team. Rohit has struggled to score runs in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy and is a doubt for the final Test due to his poor form.
According to TOI, Rohit Sharma is unlikely to play Test cricket after the ongoing series against Australia. Rohit might have played his last Test in Melbourne, but he may not officially announce his retirement as of now given the already tense atmosphere in the dressing room.
Meanwhile, the report also claims that Gautam Gambhir has not found it easy to connect with the players in the dressing room. When asked about Rohit’s availability for the Sydney Test at the press conference, Gambhir did not confirm it, putting his Test future in jeopardy.
Virat Kohli could become India’s Test captain
Rohit’s unavailability means the selectors will be looking for a new captain in the Test format. In this situation, Virat Kohli’s name comes forward to take over the Test captaincy. There have been reasons to justify Kohli’s return to the leadership role.
Kohli has been quite involved on the field in the recent Tests and has also led the team meetings. He is often seen mentoring the younger players and his involvement suggests he is a prime choice to take up the Test captaincy again.
In the Boxing Day Test, Virat Kohli was seen taking on more responsibilities and preparing the field like a captain. He looked more active on the field than regular captain Rohit Sharma.
Virat Kohli’s memory as Test captain
Before Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli was the captain of India and he even has a good record. Under his tenure, India won 40 matches and lost 17 in 68 Tests with an impressive win percentage of 70.17%. He is still India’s most successful captain in Test cricket.
Kohli led the team from 2014 to 2022. Under his leadership, India achieved great success in overseas Tests, which also became the highlight of his captaincy. Kohli led India to a historic 2-1 Test series win in Australia in 2018 as the Men in Blue became the first Asian team to win a Test series on Australian soil.
However, the appointment of Virat Kohli could be a setback for Jasprit Bumrah, the current vice-captain of India. Bumrah was expected to take over from Rohit Sharma and also led India to a win in Perth recently.
Meanwhile, the BCCI is also unhappy with the way Ravichandran Ashwin was handled by the team management. Ashwin announced his retirement after the third Test at the Gabba which came as a huge shock. The next day after announcing his retirement, he returned to India.
