Just because Virat Kohli has not won an IPL, you can't remove him from India captaincy: Sarandeep Singh

Virat Kohli has done a commendable job while leading the Men in Blue and the latest testament to the same has been India’s all-round performance against England across all three formats. However, the only thing that has gone against the Indian skipper has been his failure in helping his IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) win their maiden T20 trophy.

India’s vice-captain in the limited-overs format Rohit Sharma, on the other hand, has experienced tremendous success as a captain in the Indian Premier League having won as many as five titles for his franchise Mumbai Indians. The contrasting performances delivered by Virat and Rohit in the T20 Championship have often resulted in a particular section of fans demanding split captaincy with Rohit leading the team in the shortest format of the game.

While BCCI and both the players have always maintained silence on the issue, 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 has never been any discussion on split captaincy as Virat has stunning records under his belt both as the leader and the batsman.  

“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 said as quoted by TOI. 

Rohit-Dhawan combination is the best option for India at WC: Sarandeep Singh

The five-match T20I series against England saw India trying different opening combinations. Before the marquee series, Virat Kohli had revealed that KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma will be their opening pair, however, the series saw young Ishan Kishan and the skipper himself as the contenders for the opening slot. 

Contrary to all the speculations, Sarandeep believes that Rohit and Dhawan will open the innings for India during 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. Maybe 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 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 for 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.