5 Cricketers India can try as captains after the 2023 World Cup

From CK Nayudu to Ajinkya Rahane, India have had 33 captains so far in Test matches and 24 in ODIs. The best thing in Indian management has always been the fact that the next captain was ready long before the existing one had retired, something that teams like Sri Lanka and South Africa are struggling with currently. Dhoni was ready before Ganguly retired, Kohli was groomed before Dhoni retired and this tradition has continued for ages in the country. It is always clear that who the next captain is going to be.

Be it any format of the game, India have always produced legendary captains. Be it Kapil Dev, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli or Sourav Ganguly, or any other captain, they have been regarded as the best captains in their times. The impact of Indian captains on world cricket can be understood by the fact that the captains of ICC’s ODI, Test, and T20 teams of the decade are Indians. While MS Dhoni is the captain of the limited-overs squad, Kohli was hauled with the captaincy of the Test team.

India are currently very well settled with Virat Kohli leading the squad in all the three formats of the game, and Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane to back him up. But, the 2023 World Cup would probably be the last mega event for the Indian skipper Virat Kohli and his companions Rohit and Rahane. In such a scenario, the question arises – who will be India’s next captain? Who will be that leader taking India into yet another realm of glory and fame? We have penned down 5 names, who we think could lead India in the future.

Here are 5 Cricketers India can try as captains after the 2023 World Cup:

1. KL Rahul

After Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the most senior player in the Indian team is KL Rahul who plays all three formats. Ever since the 2019 World Cup, Rahul has been sort of a permanent wicketkeeper for the team in limited-overs cricket. He kept the wickets for India in the T20 series against New Zealand at the start of 2020 and also in the recently concluded T20I and ODI series against Australia.

Rahul was appointed as the captain of the Kings XI Punjab in 2020 and was able to take his team to the sixth spot, after having a rather disappointing start to the tournament. He is quite calm and composed on the field and backs his players whenever required. His understanding of the game is pretty good and he knows what decisions are to be taken concerning the current situation in the game.

The best thing about Rahul is that he thrives with responsibility and we saw it in this IPL as well. As the captain of Kings XI Punjab, he scored 670 runs this IPL and was the Orange Cap holder as well. Not many people know this, but Rahul has actually captained India as well. In the 5th T20 International against New Zealand in 2020, Rohit Sharma, the stand-in captain of India for the game, got injured while batting and didn’t come out during the team’s fielding. As the senior-most player in the team at that moment, Rahul was appointed the captain for New Zealand’s chase.

He comfortably won the game for the team and impressed everyone with his captaincy skills. He received applause from the likes of coach Ravi Shastri, captain Virat Kohli, and other senior players like Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah for his decision making during the game. With his good understanding of the game and quick thinking, KL Rahul would make a good captain for India.