Rohit Sharma Retires: Top 4 Contenders for India's Next Test Captain
In what can be considered heartbreaking news for Indian cricket fans, star cricketer and current Indian Test captain Rohit Sharma announces his retirement from the long format of the game. Everything happened so quickly. Even though there were rumors earlier of Rohit getting dropped from the team, they were quickly dismissed, and with him winning the Champions Trophy for the team, fans thought that the selectors were looking to give him another chance in test cricket.
However, it was not to be, as rumors circulated about Rohit's exclusion from the esteemed England test series. The news itself was enough for fans to understand their favorite cricketer's next move—retirement from tests. His performance in the longer format has declined recently, and it's inevitable that he will decide to end his career.
Rohit Sharma didn't make much fuss and announced his retirement simply via Instagram; the news was already out there about him retiring. Even though the test format was never his natural style, he adapted to it quite effortlessly and proved multiple times what a champion batter he can be for the Indian cricket team.
Indian cricket will surely miss his services in the longer format of the game, and now it's time for the selectors to announce who will be the next captain in test cricket. Let's take a look at some of the alternatives.
Jasprit Bumrah
It's quite obvious, isn't it? The only Indian player who has been consistent in all three formats and who can threaten any opposition batsman with just his sheer presence, Jasprit Bumrah should be the obvious choice for selectors to pick as the right replacement for Rohit Sharma. In fact, it was under his captaincy that we last won a test match at the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year. Experts, fans, and everyone else would unanimously vote for Jasprit Singh Bumrah to lead the team in England.
However, fitness will be a major concern for Bumrah, as he is prone to injury owing to his pretty unique bowling action. He recently had back surgery and is back to bowling well for Mumbai Indians. It remains to be seen if the selectors trust Bumrah enough to name him the test captain.
Rishabh Pant
Although Rishabh Pant hasn't performed well in white-ball cricket for a while, he seems to excel in test cricket. With his confident batting, he somehow understands and delivers when needed the most for the team in red-ball cricket. Plus, Rishabh is someone who gels well with everyone on the team. These qualities make him a viable competitor to Bumrah as the next Test captain. But strategizing and taking on-field calls is where Pant falters, and with every team he has captained so far, he hasn't really shown much promise. Such performances will make selectors wary about naming him as Rohit's replacement.
KL Rahul
KL Rahul, who has captained multiple teams in the past but has recently stepped away from captaincy, consistently demonstrates his willingness to sacrifice for the team's success, much like his beloved Karnataka idol, Rahul Dravid. In fact, Rahul received the title of Delhi Capitals captain upon his selection in the mega auction. But he denied captaincy responsibilities and wanted to be a contributor to Delhi. As a result, it's a big question whether KL will be willing to accept captaincy or not.
Shreyas Iyer
Shreyas Iyer is currently a highly unlikely yet unexpected asset to Team India. After his exit from Indian cricket, he made a comeback in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and even though he is yet to shine consistently in test cricket, his captaincy has been receiving laurels from cricket personnel across the globe. It all depends on selectors and whether they want to experiment with him as a test captain. It will be excellent for Indian cricket if Shreyas Iyer grabs captaincy responsibilities. Even if Bumrah is made the captain temporarily, like how Anil Kumble was made back in the day, Shreyas Iyer can be groomed properly before taking over the reins.
