Rohit Sharma can be the perfect successor to Virat Kohli as Indian captain: Aakash Chopra

Cricket expert Aakash Chopra has opined that Rohit Sharma is the perfect man to succeed Virat Kohli as the captain of the Indian cricket team. The former India batsman stated that Kohli would continue as the skipper for the next 10-12 months but that the team management might look for another option soon.

During a Facebook interaction with Pakistan's sports presenter Sawera Pasha, Aakash Chopra talked about several exciting topics. Chopra spoke about the resumption of India-Pakistan bilateral series, while also discussing the future of Virat Kohli as the captain of the Indian cricket team.

'Rohit Sharma is a ready-made choice for captaincy'

Rohit Sharma has achieved enormous success as a captain in the IPL

Rohit Sharma took over the reins at Mumbai Indians in IPL 2013. The opening batsman changed the franchise's fortunes as he led the team to its first IPL title triumph that year.

In the next six years that have followed, Mumbai Indians have won the prestigious tournament thrice, highlighting Rohit Sharma's excellent record as captain.

Thus, Aakash Chopra feels that India's limited-overs vice-captain is ready to become the permanent Indian cricket team captain.

"India is blessed. If India feels six months or one and a half years down the line that we need a change of guard... I don't think Kohli's performance will get affected. He has reached that level wherein he won't come down from there. His performances will be unaffected regardless of whether he is the captain or not," Aakash Chopra said.

"But as a team, sometimes you want a different direction. If you reach that stage, then Rohit Sharma is a readymade choice available. But till then, you need to persist with Kohli. He is improving as captain," Chopra continued.

Chopra pointed out that Virat Kohli needed a stellar bowling attack to succeed. He compared the performance of the Indian Test team to Royal Challengers Bangalore's fortunes to make his opinion clear.

Also, the former Kolkata Knight Riders batsman felt that Kohli would probably never agree for a split captaincy role.

He then spoke about India's recent performance in ICC events.

"For the next 10-12 months, I think it will be Kohli. But after that, if you are looking for a change of guard... I wish India wins an ICC event soon because, after 2013, we haven't won anything. There is a T20 World Cup in India as well. Hopefully, India should win one of these 2. If they don't win, then you may start thinking, 'let's look for a change in leadership and find a different tone now," Chopra signed off.