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Former India wicketkeeper Saba Karim believes that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was keen on introducing split captaincy, which is why they appointed Rohit Sharma as the white-ball captain.
However, he felt the board had to make Sharma the all-format skipper, with Virat Kohli relinquishing the Test captaincy.
The cricketer-turned-commentator made these remarks while speaking on YouTube channel Khelneeti. He reckoned that the national selectors had done the right thing in handing Sharma the captaincy after Kohli's exit.
Karim opined that the team management could groom a younger player for a leadership role under Sharma. He pointed out how the likes of Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul have been given vice-captaincy opportunities, which suggests that the grooming process has already begun.
He said:
"BCCI was forced to change split captaincy plans after Virat Kohli's sudden resignation from Test captaincy. Kohli was not expected to leave the red-ball captaincy and because of his resignation, India had to make Rohit Sharma the skipper across formats.
"Sharma is an ideal candidate for the leadership role and we can groom youngsters under him. Giving vice-captaincy opportunities to the likes of KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah shows that the grooming process has begun."
The upcoming two-match home Test series against Sri Lanka will be Sharma's maiden assignment as Team India's new Test captain. Senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been named as the vice-captain for the red-ball series.
"There were no other frontrunners for Team India's Test captaincy" - Rajkumar Sharma
In the same video, Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma noted that the idea of split captaincy was floated by the selectors for the purpose of workload management. However, he underlined how they have still gone ahead with an all-format skipper.
The 56-year-old suggested that Rohit Sharma had to be appointed as Test captain as there were no other candidates for the crucial role. He said:
"At times there are statements like there is a lot of pressure on an Indian captain and there should be split captaincy. But then, a new all-format captain is announced. I believe that the selectors have made Rohit Sharma the captain, as there were no other frontrunners for the post."
Sri Lanka are scheduled to tour India for three T20Is and two Tests from February 24 to March 16. India have announced their squad for both the rubbers.
Team India’s T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Sanju Samson (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan.
Team India's Test squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat, Ravichandran Ashwin (subject to fitness), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Sourabh Kumar.
