'You have to allow him to showcase his skills' - Dinesh Karthik names the man who can replace Virat Kohli as India's next T20I skipper

Virat Kohli will relinquish the captaincy reins of the Indian T20I side after the 2021 edition of the T20 World Cup. And, Rohit Sharma is the man touted as Kohli’s replacement to take over the captaincy mantle.

Dinesh Karthik feels that Rohit Sharma should lead the Indian side in white-ball cricket for the next 2 World Cup tournaments. Karthik reckoned that the ‘Hitman’ should be given a chance to showcase his captaincy skills.

“It will be only fair to give Rohit Sharma the opportunity to lead India for a year or two in white-ball formats. Allow him to be the captain for a couple of World Cups. You have got to give him that credit and that chance to go ahead and represent the country as captain and allow him to showcase his skills as a captain as well,” said Karthik in a chat with Cricbuzz.

It is important to have a candid conversation with Rohit Sharma: Dinesh Karthik

Dinesh Karthik added that Rohit Sharma has been successful in the limited time that he has captained the Indian side. Karthik also opined that Sharma should be given the opportunity to showcase his prowess before the reins of the side are handed over to Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul.

“He has been really good in the limited time he has captained India in ODIs and T20Is. He has brought in a considerable amount of success which tells me he knows his traits; he knows his skills. You’ve got to give him an opportunity before you bring a young boy like Rishabh Pant, or KL Rahul for that matter and make them captain,” said Karthik.

Dinesh Karthik further feels that a candid conversation should be held with Rohit Sharma and the Hitman’s suggestion should be taken into consideration. Karthik concluded by stating that Sharma should be asked whether KL Rahul or Rishabh Pant should be his deputy.

“It is important to have that candid conversation with Rohit and figure out who he would like as his lieutenant so that when he is not around – it is humanly impossible for Rohit to play all matches in all formats. They should have that chat with Rohit once they decide that he is the captain. The message should be ‘we are looking around KL and Pant. Is there a direction that you would want anybody among the 2 to be your deputy?’”, concluded Karthik.