3 reasons why Rohit Sharma may have extra pressure as skipper

On Saturday, Team India’s chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma named experienced batter Rohit Sharma as the country’s new Test captain. Sharma confirmed the same while announcing the Test and T20I squads for the home series against Sri Lanka. The chairman of selectors termed Rohit the No.1 cricketer in the country and added that he was the clear choice for the post.

Following the development, the Indian opener is now officially the all-format leader. He was earlier named the T20 captain after Virat Kohli quit the position following the T20 World Cup last year to focus on his batting. Rohit was picked as Team India’s ODI leader after Kohli was sacked from the post ahead of the South Africa tour. However, KL Rahul ended up leading the team as Rohit was unavailable due to a hamstring injury.

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Aspects captain Rohit Sharma needs to focus on

With the 34-year-old taking over as captain in all three formats, we look at three reasons why he may have added pressure as leader.

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#1 Constant controversies surrounding the team

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Pic: Getty Images

Rohit has taken over the leadership of Indian cricket at a very controversial juncture. His appointments in all three formats come amid rumors of infighting and politics between the team and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Kohli’s shocking press conference exposed the fact that he and the Indian cricket board were not on the same plane.

Questions are being raised about why Kohli quit the captaincy from two of the three formats. Although Team India have done well against the West Indies in the ongoing white-ball series, there is nothing on the unexpected lines about it. However, during the series in South Africa, the side looked disjointed and disinterested, and it showed in the results.

In the latest worrying development, on the day that Rohit was named Test captain, keeper-batter Wriddhiman Saha opened up another can of worms. Speaking after being dropped from the Test squad, Saha revealed that the team management asked him to consider "retirement" as he won't be considered for selection henceforth.

The 37-year-old claimed that BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had assured him not to worry about his Test spot after he took a pain-killer and hit a half-century in the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur last November. According to Saha, “everything changed so fast”.

Rohit is known as a calm and composed leader. But it will be a challenge for him to deal with the growing pressure amid rising controversies. Some of it is perhaps beginning to get to him. His needless outburst at the media over the Virat Kohli question and him kicking the ball over a dropped catch in the second T20I against West Indies are perhaps indicators of the tough time that lies ahead of Rohit the captain.

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#2 Baggage of choking in ICC events

India during the T20 World Cup. Pic: Getty Images

India failed to win an International Cricket Council (ICC) trophy under Kohli. They choked in the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy and the 2019 World Cup semi-final. They did not even come close to qualifying for the knockout rounds in the 2021 T20 World Cup. Undoubtedly, there will be pressure on Rohit to change this scenario.

He has perhaps got two shots at glory in the white-ball formats - the T20 World Cup in Australia this year followed by the ODI World Cup back home in India in 2023. Then of course there is the World Test Championship (WTC) as well, which will conclude in 2023.

Rohit and the team management need to identify players who can win them World Cups. India suffered in 2019 after being overdependent on a couple of players - Rohit himself and Kohli. During the T20 World Cup in the UAE last year, they just did not look like a team.

The 34-year-old will be aware that his leadership could very well be evaluated on the basis of how Team India performs under him in upcoming ICC events.

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#3 His fitness concerns

The Hitman’s had his share of injury woes. Pic: Getty Images

During the press conference on Saturday, chief selector Sharma stressed that Rohit is absolutely fit and fine and raring to go. However, he did admit that the selection committee will have discussions with Rohit from time to time over his fitness.

One of the big concerns for many experts over handing the captaincy in all formats to Rohit was his fitness. The opener has had his fair share of struggles with injuries, more so in the past couple of years. He missed part of IPL 2020 and came back to play in the playoffs. But subsequently, there was uncertainty over the status of his injury for the Australian tour.

Even before heading to South Africa, he was named captain of the ODI squad and vice-captain of the Test squad. But Rohit missed both series’, picking up a hamstring injury just before the team’s departure for the tour. Team India need Rohit both as a batter and the captain. Above all though, they need him to be fit and in shape to manage the rigors of international cricket.