5 Indian cricketers whose careers might be affected if Rohit Sharma becomes captain

There has been a lot of talk around the change in captaincy in white-ball cricket for India. Virat Kohli has a good record but there has been a lot of criticism in the way he’s led the side. His team selection, in particular, has been questioned. Moreover, his on-field tactics have also come under scrutiny. Hence, despite Kohli boasting of a win percentage of 75% in ODI cricket, there are calls for Rohit Sharma to take over as the ODI and T20I captaincy. The opener has led Mumbai Indians to four IPL titles and is deemed to have a better tactical nous than Kohli. Thus, if that happens, there are a few players whose careers might be affected. These are players who enjoyed the backing of Kohli despite not delivering consistently. Hence, here are five such players whose careers might be affected if Rohit Sharma takes over as captain. Five players whose career might get affected if Rohit becomes the captain: Ravindra Jadeja Ravindra Jadeja. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images) Ravindra Jadeja has had a wonderful time in the recent past. The Saurashtra all-rounder almost won India the World Cup semi-final single-handedly. His batting is often underrated while his ability in the field is second to none. Moreover, he is very accurate with the ball. However, Jadeja hasn’t played a lot of cricket under Rohit Sharma. The left-hander has played just three games under Rohit’s captaincy, all of them came in the Asia Cup last year. In those three games, he went wicketless in two and picked up a four-fer in the other. Rohit has generally preferred Krunal Pandya who offers a similar skill set. The Baroda all-rounder has consistently played T20 internationals since November last year and Rohit has captained six of them. Moreover, the duo has shared the dressing room in the IPL in the last few years. Hence, with the two Pandya brothers fit and available, Jadeja may not enjoy the same confidence under Rohit. Kedar Jadhav Kedar Jadhav. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Throughout his career, Kedar Jadhav has been a pretty underrated cricketer. The Maharashtra player has been one of the key players in the Indian ODI team over the last few years. His ability to chip in with a few overs in the middle always went in his favour. In fact, since the start of 2017, Jadhav was one of the constants in the middle order. He could get some quick runs towards the end and play around with the field. However, Jadhav has played just seven games under Rohit. He is not in the scheme of things in T20Is and has been in and out of the ODI side in the recent past. Hence, the end could be near for the Pune-born cricketer. With Rohit at the helm, the Indian middle-order could be rejigged. Jadhav could be one of the unlucky ones to face the axe. Moreover, age isn’t on the 34-year-old’s side either. KL Rahul KL Rahul. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images) KL Rahul is deemed to be a multi-format player. He has the ability and the game to excel across all three formats. However, Rahul’s career has been pretty frustrating. In the longest format, he’s got plenty of opportunities but just hasn’t been able to be consistent. Meanwhile, he’s had a stop-start white-ball career so far and hasn’t got a longer run. He’s constantly shuffled around the opener’s slot and the No. 4 position. However, he has not been able to cement his spot in the limited opportunities he’s got. Rahul is a good T20 player and has a couple of excellent tons in T20Is. But it’s the ODI format where he seems to be struggling. Hence, he could be the one who might find himself out with Rohit taking over and giving more chances to the likes of Shubman Gill and Vijay Shankar. The Karnataka lad has played nine T20Is under Rohit Sharma but has never featured in a 50-over game when the latter was at the helm. Kuldeep Yadav Kuldeep Yadav. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images) This might be a surprising name in this list but Kuldeep Yadav hasn’t enjoyed the same run under Rohit Sharma as he has under Virat Kohli. There’s absolutely no doubt that the chinaman has been a vital part of India’s white-ball success over the last couple of years. He is one player who has been consistently picking up wickets in the middle overs and has troubled the opposition. However, that seems to be changing now. Kuldeep has struggled quite a bit this year. Moreover, under Rohit, he has always found himself on the bench. Despite the availability of Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep hasn’t played much under Rohit in the recent past. The Mumbaikar seems to back the likes of Krunal Pandya and Yuzvendra Chahal to do the job in the 20-over format. Also, with the emergence of Rahul Chahar, we might get to see the young leggie in action a lot more. Hence, there is not a lot of room for spinners and thus, Kuldeep’s career might be affected if Rohit takes over as skipper. Umesh Yadav Umesh Yadav. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images) Umesh Yadav has constantly been in and out of the Indian white-ball sides. He has been a regular in Test cricket but hasn’t been able to cement his spot in the shorter formats. However, India’s struggles over the last few years to find backup pacers has resulted in them constantly going back to Yadav. Moreover, Virat Kohli loves pace and hence, he backed Yadav constantly. But the Vidarbha pacer hasn’t really enjoyed the same backing under Rohit Sharma. He has played just one game in Rohit’s captaincy and that was in a T20I against West Indies late last year. The likes of Khaleel Ahmed and Shardul Thakur have got the Mumbaikar’s vote of confidence. Thus, Yadav’s aim to return to white-ball cricket may not be fulfilled if Rohit takes over the captaincy from Kohli. The 31-year-old pacer’s erratic nature and Rohit’s preference for youngsters might go against him.

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5 Indian cricketers whose careers might be affected if Rohit Sharma becomes captain

These players haven't played much under Rohit Sharma's captaincy.

Kedar Jadhav

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