BCCI was forced to change split captaincy plans after Virat Kohli's sudden resignation: Saba Karim

A few days after Rohit Sharma was announced as the new Test skipper for team India, cricketer-turned-commentator Saba Karim has opined that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had to shun their split captaincy plans after Virat Kohli’s resignation from Test captaincy.  After a series defeat by the hands of Proteas, the 33-year old surprised the cricketing fraternity by stepping down from his skipper role.

Speaking on a YouTube channel Khelneeti, former cricketer Karim opined that the national selectors had made a right call by handing over the Test captaincy to Rohit after Kohli’s exit. Karim also suggested that the management could prepare young players under Sharma’s leadership to take over the role in the future. The 54-year old former batter also pointed out how players like KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, and Rishabh Pant have already been appointed as vice-captains,  which suggests that the grooming process has already begun.

Virat Kohli was not expected to leave the red-ball captaincy: Saba Karim

“BCCI was forced to change split captaincy plans after Virat Kohli’s sudden resignation from Test captaincy. Kohli was not expected to leave the red-ball captaincy and because of his resignation, India had to make Rohit Sharma the skipper across formats,” said Karim.

“Sharma is an ideal candidate for the leadership role and we can groom youngsters under him. Giving vice-captaincy opportunities to the likes of KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah shows that the grooming process has begun,” he added.

In his maiden assignment as India’s new Test skipper, team India will be locking horns against Sri Lanka in a two-match Test series starting from March four. Mohali and Bangalore are the two venues for the Test series against the visitors.

Test Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, R Pant, KS Bharat, R Ashwin (subject to fitness), R Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, J Bumrah (VC), Md. Shami, Md. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Saurabh Kumar.