"You can’t have a captain captaining for 12 months in a year" - Gautam Gambhir speaks about split captaincy ahead of new Test captain announcement 

Indian men's team head coach Gautam Gambhir has said he would prefer to have one captain in all three formats. The 43-year-old, however, admitted that modern cricket does not offer such luxuries due to the hectic schedules and two months of the Indian Premier League.

The former India opener added that having two players leading a country was the best scenario, in today's times, as it would help divide the workload and offer relief to the player, when he is not leading a particular team.

“Ideally, as a coach, if you ask me, it’s much easier to work with one guy — if you have 1 captain for all three formats. I’m saying ideally, but it never happens because you have to realize in today’s day and age, you can’t have a captain captaining for 12 months in a year because you’re playing ten months of international cricket and then you’re playing two months of IPL," Gambhir told CNN News18 in an interview.

"Putting a young guy captaining the side for 12 months in a year is putting a lot of toll on his mental being or on his game as well. So, ideally it’s one, but in today’s day and age, it is always better to have two because obviously that pressure can actually be distributed among two people, and it gets much easier for a player to try and be free when he’s not captaining the side," the 43-year-old added.

India likely to have different captain for each format after Rohit Sharma announces Test retirement

With Rohit Sharma announcing his retirement from Test cricket, India are in search of a new Test captain, ahead of the start of the new World Test Championship cycle in June. The decision also means that India will most likely be helmed by three captains in three different formats.

Suryakumar Yadav has been leading India's T20I side, post the World Cup win in June 2024. Sharma, who will now play just 50-over cricket, is expected to lead India in the format while the search for the new Test captain could end on Saturday, when the team for the five-Test tour to England is likely to be announced.