"Country like India needs one captain" - Dinesh Karthik ahead of Rohit Sharma's 1st Test as skipper

Rohit Sharma is set to play his first match as India's Test captain when they take on Sri Lanka in Mohali on Friday.

India briefly flirted with the idea of dual captains after Virat Kohli stepped down from the leadership role in the T20 Internationals (T20Is) last year. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) removed him from the ODI captaincy. They named Rohit the skipper in limited overs, with Kohli continuing to lead in Tests.

However, Kohli quit the Test captaincy as well earlier this year. Post that, BCCI decided to appoint Rohit to the role, going back to one all-format captain.

Wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik said that that is the way to go forward for a country like India. He also noted that former India captain MS Dhoni was also against the idea of dual captaincy.

Speaking to the International Cricket Council (ICC), Karthik said:

"A cricketing country like India needs one captain. It is very easy to deal with one captain for all three formats. I remember MS Dhoni saying that split captaincy doesn't work in India that well. We haven't had that over a period of time, so we wouldn't know."

He backed Rohit as the right man to lead India across formats.

"At this point in time when I do see it, I think he is the man. Every time he touched something, it's turned to gold. All the series he has been a part of, he has won convincingly," he said in his chat with ICC.

"Rohit Sharma has shown a lot of tactical nous in all his games" - Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik was all praise for what he has seen of Rohit Sharma's captaincy so far.

Since becoming the permanent captain in the white-ball formats, Rohit has maintained a perfect record in all the matches and series he has played.

"He has shown a lot of tactical nous in the games that he has played. Moved the bowlers around really well, giving confidence to the batters and when they've won a series, giving opportunities to the young guys. Sometimes taking a backseat, batting in a position where obviously he has not batted there for a long time. So, he is doing a lot of things right," Karthik said.

He also spoke about his own experience of playing under Rohit's captaincy.

"Just as an example, the way he chooses to take DRS. The way he speaks to people and then he makes the decisions. It's very interesting the way he has always thought," he said.

"I remember when I played quite a lot under him and I've always been surprised with the decisions he takes in terms of bowling changes. The way he marshals his troops. And when I do ask him, he'll give a very clear answer and answer it with a lot of clarity, which I've always enjoyed," Karthik added.

He also spoke about how the new India skipper is always aware of the situation and praised his 'foresight'.

"Being a captain, he is always aware. I have been very impressed when on the field he’s told me to do some things, and exactly that has happened within the next two-to-three balls. I have been like, ‘Wow!’. You need some foresight for that to happen and I've always enjoyed that, whenever he is the captain," Karthik said.

India will take on Sri Lanka in the first of their two Tests starting on Friday in Mohali. The second Test will be played in Bengaluru, commencing March 12th.