Rohit Sharma Captain for Sri Lanka 2022
On January 15, India’s most popular athlete, Virat Kohli, shocked the nation as he announced his decision to step down from the Test captaincy of the Indian National Cricket Team, with Rohit Sharma a clear choice to be his successor.
Image credit: PA Images Rohit Sharma takes cover from the rainAfter Ajinkya Rahane’s recent waning performances with the bat, it was pretty clear who was going to lead the Indian cricket team against their neighbours, Sri Lanka.
The 34-year-old white ball captain of the team, Rohit Sharma, was the obvious choice to replace the former captain, and soon it was done and dusted as he was appointed the Test captain just ahead of the two-Test Sri Lanka series that was set to commence in March.
Although there was some doubt in the minds of analysts and cricket pundits, Sharma was seen as a natural choice to lead the Blues in the longest format of the game after taking the T20 duties from Kohli last year. This was along with the ODI captaincy, from which Kohli was sacked as the BCCI didn’t want two white ball captains at the same time.
Rohit Sharma shut his doubters up as he guided his side to a dominant innings-and-222-runs win over Sri Lanka last week, with many congratulating the new captain on his achievement.
"From the way he speaks, it seems like the players know their roles… And they know what the team expects from them and what the captain expects from them," legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar said after Sharma’s debut captaincy win.
Rohit Sharma’s captaincy career
India started the Rohit Sharma era on November 17, 2021, when he led the team in the first T20I against New Zealand, held at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. The first match of Sharma's time as India’s full-time captain in the 20-over format also began with a win, a five-wicket success. Rohit has led India 28 times in T20Is and has a wonderful record, winning 24 matches.
In the 50-over format, Sharma has led India in 13 ODIs and has been able to clinch victories in 11 of them.
Sharma has also done a tremendous job with his Indian Premier League Mumbai Indians, which he also captains. Sharma has led the Mumbai Indians in 129 matches and has won 75 of them, whereas he has lost 50 and drawn four as captain.
Rohit Sharma’s first Test as full-time captain
In the first match of the two-match series, India took control by beating Sri Lanka by an innings and 222 runs in Mohali to secure a 1-0 lead.
The highlight of the Test was Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin's all-round performances. India dismissed Sri Lanka for 178 runs as Jadeja and Ashwin each took four wickets. In addition to taking five wickets in India's first innings, Jadeja scored an unbeaten 175 runs. Just one wicket separated him from becoming the first person in Test cricket history to take 10 wickets and score over 150 in the same match.
Meanwhile, ahead of the second Test, India’s squad has only seen one change as Kuldeep Yadav has been replaced by Axar Patel.
Indian players in the second Test
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Priyank Panchal, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubhman Gill, KS Bharat, Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, R. Ashwin, Saurabh Kumar, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Mohd. Shami, Axar Patel.