'There are four-five players who can lead India' - Brett Lee opines on Virat Kohli's replacement for Test captaincy

Former Australian pacer Brett Lee felt that there are many contenders to replace Virat Kohli as the Indian Test captain. Kohli stepped down from the captaincy role after the 1-2 Test series loss to South Africa and a lot of experts have put forward the names of potential contenders for the Indian leadership in the longer format. Rohit Sharma is the most likely candidate to become the Test captain but his fitness issues have created doubts over it.

KL Rahul, who led India in the second Test against South Africa, failed to impress and not the team just lost the Test but also the subsequent ODI series under him. However, he is expected to be groomed in the future, while the likes of Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant are next in the queue. Spin Wizard Shane Warne has urged the Indian management to appoint Rohit as captain and groom Bumrah for the role in the future.

‘It is totally up to Virat Kohli’ – Brett Lee on Kohli stepping down

Lee mentioned that he hasn’t followed much Indian cricket recently due to the ongoing Big Bash League and the recently-concluded Ashes and was not ready to opine on Kohli’s sudden decision. He added that India have a lot of options in the bank for the next Test captain and noted 4-5 candidates are ready for the role at the moment.

“It is totally Virat Kohli’s call. I have been focused on the Big Bash League back home and obviously, the Ashes. I cannot say much about it, it is totally up to Virat Kohli. I think there are four-five players who can lead India in Tests right only, only time will tell,” Lee was quoted by News18.

“It is totally up to the Indian management, there are four-five players who can do the job,” he added

Lee is one of the quickest bowlers to have played the game and he had a phenomenal record across formats. He finished with 310 wickets in 76 Tests and 380 wickets in 221 ODIs for the Australian side and was part of the famous trio of bowling alongside Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie.