3 reasons why Virat Kohli should captain in 5th ENG vs IND Test if Rohit Sharma isn't available

Are the stars aligning for Virat Kohli to finish what he started? India's all-format captain Rohit Sharma on Saturday returned positive for COVID-19 in a Rapid Antigen Test and is currently isolating himself in the care of the BCCI medical team.

The development came just five days before India take on England at Edgbaston to complete the rescheduled fifth Test of the 2021 series between the two teams. While it's enough time for Rohit to recover, there's a slight possibility that he might not be fit to start the match, his first overseas Test as captain.

There is no official vice-captain for the series so the BCCI and head coach Rahul Dravid will have three broad options to replace him - fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah, wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant and former captain Kohli.

The third is the most unlikely, but below we discuss three reasons why it's the best option.

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#1 Experience

India are 2-1 up and it's their best chance in 15 years to secure a series win in England. For Rohit, who has proven himself in ODI and T20I formats and got a taste of the red-ball captaincy against Sri Lanka in March, it would have been the perfect amount of pressure to showcase his skills in the longest format in overseas conditions.

For Pant, who is still finding his feet as a T20 captain, and Bumrah, who hasn't led in any high-level cricket, it might be too big a challenge. After all, there's a reason why captaincy debuts are arranged in home conditions against weaker opponents. No other player in the team has any Test captaincy experience either.

Players who step down from the captaincy aren't generally asked to lead again, unless, like in the case of Chennai Super Kings and MS Dhoni, the new captain steps down midway and asks his predecessor to take guard again.

This might be a good enough emergency for India's most successful Test captain to make an interim comeback. Kohli knows the English conditions, understands how to lead here and will have no problems making field and bowling changes.

There can be a (valid) argument here that the 33-year-old can, and should, help the new young captain with his tactical and technical inputs. But to tame a resurgent home side that is riding high on momentum and is playing a dauntingly aggressive brand of cricket, India need a character like Kohli in the driving seat.

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#2 Virat Kohli deserves to finish what he started

India taking a 2-1 lead was a result of unprecedented teamwork. Everyone who played contributed to the team with their primary skills and Kohli, despite not shining with the bat, was the key factor behind galvanizing them as a unit.

Joe Root, who was the England captain for the first four Tests, has also stepped down, with Ben Stokes now taking charge. But Root was always a better batter than captain and after a thumping Ashes defeat in Australia, more people were happy than sad when he announced his decision. The same can't be said for his Indian counterpart.

The South Africa series in late 2021 perhaps displayed the negative side of Kohli's style of captaincy. But the England tour, and especially the wins at Lord's and The Oval, were his defining acts as a leader. In that series, the world compared India to the great sides of the past. There was a general feeling around that if India win the final match, they will be unstoppable for the next three-four years.

In the absence of Rohit and a viable alternative, Kohli deserves a chance to finish what he started. Getting a chance to make it 3-2 would be a befitting farewell to the career of someone who put the country back on the map of Test cricket.

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#3 Sends the right message

A lot of administrative decisions in a lot of sporting machinery are based on sending the "right message". It's a subjective call that is not always successful.

For Indian cricket currently, one of the right messages could be that 'all is well between Virat Kohli and the BCCI'. Last year's events propagated an entirely opposite message - there were suggestions of friction between players and board members, and the trust between the board and the audience almost broke down.

If Rohit, Dravid, Kohli himself and the rest of the team agree, and the BCCI gives its green light to the former captain to take charge temporarily, it will lighten the air around Indian cricket massively.

More than any interview or social media statement, this will showcase that the stakeholders respect Kohli's contribution to the game and consider him an important part of the team. And who knows, a positive environment like this might just be the catalyst for another unforgettable win for India?

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