Split captaincy was never even discussed, can't remove Kohli for not winning IPL, reveals Sarandeep Singh
Former Indian selector Sarandeep Singh has revealed that the option of spit captaincy was never even discussed as Virat Kohli has performed well and can't be removed for not winning the IPL trophy yet. He also added that Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan should open for India in the T20 World Cup.
One of the raging debates in Indian cricket, for a while now, has been regarding the captaincy of Virat Kohli and whether or not, he should lead India across formats. India have failed to win even one ICC tournament under him despite boasting a great side with his tactics and team selections coming under scrutiny. India, however, did make it to the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy and semi-final of the 2019 World Cup respectively.
Rohit Sharma, who has been an IPL winning machine and done well as the Indian captain in the absence of Virat Kohli, has been considered a better option, for at least, T20Is, by a vast section.
Sarandeep Singh, who was one of the selectors in India's last selection committee, the tenure of which ended with the Aussie series, revealed that there have never been even talks of split captaincy given the prolific displays of Virat Kohli over the years. He also added that not winning the IPL can't be held against Virat.
"Spilt captaincy is needed when your captain is not performing but he (Kohli) is the only player to average more than 50 in all formats. If he isn't performing in one format you can take the leadership pressure off him and give it to someone else. Just because he has not won an IPL you can't remove him from India captaincy. He is also the fittest player and captain. Rohit is there to lead the side in his absence but there is no reason to replace Virat," Sarandeep told PTI., reported TOI.
Recently, Shikhar Dhawan was left far behind in the queue of openers in T20Is with Ishan Kishan and Virat Kohli emerging as alternatives to the first-choice opening pair of KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma, as suggested by the Indian skipper. However, Sarandeep Singh feels that it should be Dhawan and Rohit opening the batting in the T20 World Cup.
"It was surprising. He (Dhawan) did well in the IPL, he did well in Australia. Whenever he plays he performs. He is mentally very strong. May be they want to try out options but in my view the left-hand right-hand combination of Rohit and Dhawan is the best option for the India at World Cup."
"You can't judge him on basis of one match. He did well in ODIs after that. The IPL will decide a lot of the team. There are no easy places in the team. Ishan Kishan too will need to do exceptionally well to make the team," he added.
One of the major takeaways from India's recent ODI series win over England was Rishabh Pant's utility in the middle-order. However, the former Indian selector feels that Shreyas Iyer should retain his place when he returns back to the side.
"He can give you 10 years in Test cricket, Saha cannot and has become the number one choice. In ODIs, Shreyas got injured so Rishabh played. When he is back, KL should be the wicketkeeper because he has been keeping wickets for a long time and is doing a fine job."
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