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Rohit Sharma was already the most successful captain in the Indian Premier League (IPL) when the thirteenth season started on September 19 in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The 33-year-old added another feather to his leadership when Mumbai Indians (MI) defeated Delhi Capitals (DC) by five wickets in IPL 2020 final on Tuesday (November 10). It was Mumbai’s fifth IPL title.
Rohit has now won a total of six IPL titles – one as a player with now-defunct Deccan Chargers – and five as captain of MI.
After grabbing the fifth IPL crown, numerous fans and experts shared their opinion that Rohit should be given the responsibility to lead Team India in T20Is. Former India opener Gautam Gambhir also spoke in a similar tone. He lauded Rohit and his headship skills, stating that not giving him the captaincy in the shortest format is India’s loss.
However, former India international Aakash Chopra disagreed with Gambhir and backed current skipper Virat Kohli to continue as India’s captain across formats. While speaking on his official Facebook page, Chopra even questioned if Rohit would have won the same number of IPL titles had he been captaining the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) side instead of MI.
“Gautam Gambhir believes that it is the nation’s misfortune if Rohit Sharma is not made the Indian T20I captain because he is the most successful skipper in the IPL. But I have a question, that if Rohit was given the RCB team, which is there with Kohli, will he have won two, three or four out of the five titles MI have won?” asked Chopra.
“Blaming Kohli alone for RCB’s performance is unfair:” Chopra
Chopra lauded Rohit for his leadership, saying that he likes Rohit as captain but has his doubts whether MI’s success can be replicated with Team India. The 43-year-old reckoned that it would be unfair to blame Kohli alone for RCB’s poor performance.
“Rohit as a captain is outstanding, I love him to bits but can the Mumbai Indians’ success story be equated with India? That is my question. Just because Kohli’s team does not do well, does it mean that is Kohli’s fault,” remarked Chopra.
The cricketer-turned-commentator also took some fan questions where one user asked: “Is it time to handover the T20I captaincy to Rohit Sharma?”
Answering the query, Chopra admitted that it is not fair that Rohit is not leading the team in T20Is but explained the reason behind it. He said that as long as the mystery over Rohit’s fitness continues, he can’t be named India’s captain in the shortest format.
“They cannot make him the captain now; however much you may try. I know it is not fair, but this is what it is. There is a mystery going on regarding when he will get fit. If he is fit on the 10th, why is he not fit for the 27th? Currently, Kohli will continue as skipper,” Chopra added further.
