"He will definitely be slightly laidback than Virat Kohli" - Ajit Agarkar on Rohit Sharma's style of captaincy

Ajit Agarkar has highlighted that Rohit Sharma might be a slightly more laidback captain when compared to Virat Kohli. However, Agarkar believes the new Indian white-ball skipper's leadership qualities are evident.

Sharma, who missed the ODI series against South Africa due to a hamstring injury, will be at the helm in the upcoming limited-overs series against the West Indies. This will be the first time he will be captaining Team India in an ODI series as a full-time limited-overs skipper.

During a discussion on the Star Sports show Game Plan, Ajit Agarkar was asked about Rohit Sharma's style of captaincy. He responded:

"Whatever we have seen of him, he will definitely be slightly laidback than Virat Kohli. But we have seen his leadership qualities, not just in franchise cricket. He has reached a stage of his career where he is extremely experienced, played a lot of matches in international cricket, so he has the experience of that."

The former India cricketer highlighted that Sharma will have a different responsibility as a full-time skipper. Ajit Agarkar explained:

"Generally, there is a feel for the game required for a captain, it seems he has that. The responsibility will be different now because when you are a stand-in captain, you are there for a series or few matches but here you have to prepare a team for the next World Cup - whether it is T20 or 50-over."

Team India have not won an ICC title for more than eight years. Rohit will hope to lead the Men In Blue to glory in the T20 and ODI World Cups to be held in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

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"Rohit Sharma's biggest challenge will be to remain fit" - Ajit Agarkar

Rohit Sharma has been bothered by hamstring injuries of late

Ajit Agarkar also spoke about the biggest challenge before Rohit Sharma. He said:

"I believe his [Rohit's] biggest challenge will be to remain fit. We have seen of late that he has got a few injuries. The captains who were there before him - Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni - their strength was that both were extremely fit and they missed matches very few times in their careers."

The 44-year-old highlighted the importance of Sharma being available for all the matches the team plays. Agarkar elaborated:

"So that will be a challenge because when you play all the games, it will be easier for you to build the team. You will be able to see closely how each player reacts in a given situation. So that will be the key for him because he has the leadership qualities and we have seen that as well."

Apart from being Team India's full-time limited-overs skipper, Sharma might also be entrusted with the Test captaincy. In such a scenario, the Mumbaikar will have to pay heed to his fitness even more.