For reasons of its own, it has become a recurring quandary. Should India adopt slit captaincy? Is the time right to shift some duties to Rohit Sharma? However, over time, the dynamics of the question have changed. It is no more just about splitting the burden, freeing someone up. It is no more just about man-management either. It is about the criminal underutilization of a skill lying vacant, left to be rusted.

While the cricketing world is often awed by what Rohit does with his bat, his captaincy is not given as much admiration it deserves. Certainly, he is one of the better willow wielders of the generation, although his greatness is not restricted to his magic with the bat. The furore of giving the captaincy to Rohit Sharma has been fuelled once again after he has led Mumbai Indians to an unprecedented fifth IPL title.

To appraise Rohit’s leadership skills is, by no means, an attempt to denigrate that which Virat Kohli is capable of. However, Rohit, the leader, has been way too accomplished to not be considered for the job. India’s incumbent skipper Virat Kohli has been spot on while wearing the hat of captaincy in all the formats, however, at least in limited-overs cricket, his compatriot Rohit surely deserves a look-in.

The depth of this debate is profound, and, of course, there are many more reasons than the five enlisted underneath. However, these five are un-ignorable, to say the least.

Here are five reasons why Rohit Sharma should lead India in limited-overs &#8211;

1. Phenomenal success in the IPL

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-464282" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rohit-Sharma-captain-of-Mumbai-Indians.jpg" alt="Rohit Sharma captain of Mumbai Indians" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-464282" class="wp-caption-text">Rohit Sharma captain of Mumbai Indians. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption>

6 as a player; 5 as skipper – that is how bizarre Rohit’s success rate in the Indian Premier League is. Not to forget, these five titles have come in merely eight years of captaincy. He is, by some distance, the most successful captain in IPL history. And the feat might not have been as phenomenal, had it been another league. But five titles in eight as skipper in a league as supremely, cruelly competitive as IPL? This is a mind-baffling rate of success.

Charting Mumbai Indians’ success over the years in the IPL, one man who appears highly responsible for it is no one but Rohit Sharma. He took over the duty from <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/different-people-different-rules-harbhajan-singh-after-suryakumar-yadav-didnt-find-a-place-in-indias-squad-for-australia-tour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Harbhajan Singh</a> in 2013 and got the team to its first title with admirable immediacy. Then 2015, 2017, 2019, and when the odd-year success formula began to appear a norm, the team broke it with such chutzpah in 2020.

Rohit has led MI to 68 wins in 116 IPL matches: a win percentage of 60.34%. Therefore, he happens to be the most successful captain in the history of the IPL (in terms of match win percentage; min 10 matches as captain).

2. Stupendous record in limited-overs

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-232237" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rohit-Sharma-6.jpg" alt="Rohit Sharma" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-232237" class="wp-caption-text">Indian skipper Rohit Sharma strikes a pose with the trophy. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption>

<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/congress-spokesperson-udit-raj-calls-virat-kohli-as-anushka-sharmas-dog-in-his-tweet-over-diwali-crackers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Virat Kohli</a> has been leading India to glory and heights ever since he has taken the reins from MS Dhoni. Statistically, Kohli is not only the most successful skipper in the ODI format for India but one of the most in the history of the format. Out of the total 89 ODIs that Kohli has led India in, he has as many as 62 wins and merely 24 losses. Only three captains – Clive Lloyd (77.71), Ricky Ponting (76.14), and Hansi Cronje (73.70) – have a win percentage superior to that of Kohli (71.83).

In T20I cricket, too, Kohli has 22 wins to show in 37 matches as skipper, and his win-percentage of 65.71 is second to only Afghanistan’s Asghar Afghan’s 80.61 (minimum 30 matches a captain). Compared to Kohli, Rohit’s sample size is much smaller, although his rate of success in both the formats is promising. In 10 ODIs as skipper, Rohit has won 8 and lost 2, whereas, he has won 15 out of the 19 T20Is he has played as captain.

In Kohli’s presence, Rohit has hardly got opportunities to lead India in the limited-overs setup, however, given the latter’s incredible skill-set, there is little doubt about how well would he leave a mark if he is allotted the role.

3. Big-tournament skipper

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-232061" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rohit-Sharma-5.jpg" alt="Rohit Sharma India" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-232061" class="wp-caption-text">Rohit Sharma. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption>

Talent is a term often associated with Rohit Sharma. And little needs to be told about how much of that he has in him, both as a batsman and a leader. He might not have got too many chances, but the elegant batsman seamlessly melts himself in the boots of captaincy, and no wonder, he has ensured to bring laurels to the nation whenever he has gotten a chance to lead.

Despite his staggering win-percentage, Virat Kohli has not been able to lead India to a victory in any major world championship. Under him, India lost the Champions Trophy 2017 to Pakistan, whereas the most gut-wrenching defeat against New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup kept India devoid of inching closer towards the most celebrated trophy in the sport of cricket.

Contrastingly, Rohit Sharma has skippered India to victory in the Asia Cup in Dubai in 2018. Furthermore, his 15 T20I wins include the victories in the Nidahas tri-series in 2018, which India went onto clinch. Therefore, when it comes to leadership in the big-tournaments, Rohit’s credentials make a sturdy case.

4. Leadership instincts

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-462167" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rohit-Sharma.jpg" alt="Rohit Sharma" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-462167" class="wp-caption-text">Rohit Sharma. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption>

Rohit Sharma is a natural leader. He is not the go-getter like Virat Kohli. He is not an in-your-face man like Ricky Ponting. He has an element of Sourav Ganguly when it comes to backing the players. When it is about holding the nerves under pressure, Rohit has an element of MS Dhoni. As was once pointed out by Mahela Jayawardene, one standout and similar trait of Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, is their quality trusting the instincts and then backing themselves.

How else does one describe the call of introducing Jayant Yadav, the spinner, in the fourth over, against an in-form Shikhar Dhawan, in an all-important IPL Final? That too notwithstanding the fact that two express pacemen – <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/jasprit-bumrah-is-best-t20-fast-bowler-in-the-world-shane-bond/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jasprit Bumrah</a> and Trent Boult – were wreaking havoc from both ends. Clearly, the ideal strategy would have been to continue with the pacers and give one of them an extended spell after MI reduced DC to 3 for 22.

However, not only did Rohit discontinue the spell of the pacer, but he introduced Jayant Yadav over Rahul Chahar, and his move paid off. A similar example of his captaincy prowess was his belief in Dinesh Karthik’s ability to finish games. It was Karthik’s cameo that led India to a historic win.

5. A team-man who backs to the hilt

<img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-448508" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Mumbai-Indians-1.jpg" alt="Mumbai Indians" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-448508" class="wp-caption-text">Mumbai Indians. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption>

The task of a leader is multifold. While leading Mumbai Indians, Rohit has shown how good a team man he is. As a captain, Rohit has been astute enough to identify match-winners, build a team, and back the budding players until they come good.

It was the 2015 season of IPL that MI won their second title and when two of India&#8217;s current stars &#8211; <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/hardik-pandya-is-not-comfortable-at-the-moment-to-bowl-rohit-sharma/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hardik Pandya</a> and Jasprit Bumrah &#8211; developed immensely under his captaincy. Pandya became the answer to India’s all-rounder question with his hard-hitting abilities whereas Bumrah marked himself as one of the best bowlers in the world, with his ability in the death overs and subtle variations.

In the years that have followed, the likes of Mayank Markande and Rahul Chahar have also blossomed under him and have got a look-in in the Indian T20I team.

For reasons of its own, it has become a recurring quandary. Should India adopt slit captaincy? Is the time right to shift some duties to Rohit Sharma? However, over time, the dynamics of the question have changed. It is no more just about splitting the burden, freeing someone up. It is no more just about man-management either. It is about the criminal underutilization of a skill lying vacant, left to be rusted.
While the cricketing world is often awed by what Rohit does with his bat, his captaincy is not given as much admiration it deserves. Certainly, he is one of the better willow wielders of the generation, although his greatness is not restricted to his magic with the bat. The furore of giving the captaincy to Rohit Sharma has been fuelled once again after he has led Mumbai Indians to an unprecedented fifth IPL title.
To appraise Rohit’s leadership skills is, by no means, an attempt to denigrate that which Virat Kohli is capable of. However, Rohit, the leader, has been way too accomplished to not be considered for the job. India’s incumbent skipper Virat Kohli has been spot on while wearing the hat of captaincy in all the formats, however, at least in limited-overs cricket, his compatriot Rohit surely deserves a look-in.
The depth of this debate is profound, and, of course, there are many more reasons than the five enlisted underneath. However, these five are un-ignorable, to say the least.
<h3>Here are five reasons why Rohit Sharma should lead India in limited-overs –</h3>
<h3>1. Phenomenal success in the IPL</h3>
<figure id="attachment_464282" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-464282" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-464282" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rohit-Sharma-captain-of-Mumbai-Indians.jpg" alt="Rohit Sharma captain of Mumbai Indians" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-464282" class="wp-caption-text">Rohit Sharma captain of Mumbai Indians. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
6 as a player; 5 as skipper – that is how bizarre Rohit’s success rate in the Indian Premier League is. Not to forget, these five titles have come in merely eight years of captaincy. He is, by some distance, the most successful captain in IPL history. And the feat might not have been as phenomenal, had it been another league. But five titles in eight as skipper in a league as supremely, cruelly competitive as IPL? This is a mind-baffling rate of success.
Charting Mumbai Indians’ success over the years in the IPL, one man who appears highly responsible for it is no one but Rohit Sharma. He took over the duty from <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/different-people-different-rules-harbhajan-singh-after-suryakumar-yadav-didnt-find-a-place-in-indias-squad-for-australia-tour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Harbhajan Singh</a> in 2013 and got the team to its first title with admirable immediacy. Then 2015, 2017, 2019, and when the odd-year success formula began to appear a norm, the team broke it with such chutzpah in 2020.
Rohit has led MI to 68 wins in 116 IPL matches: a win percentage of 60.34%. Therefore, he happens to be the most successful captain in the history of the IPL (in terms of match win percentage; min 10 matches as captain).
<h3>2. Stupendous record in limited-overs</h3>
<figure id="attachment_232237" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-232237" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-232237" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rohit-Sharma-6.jpg" alt="Rohit Sharma" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-232237" class="wp-caption-text">Indian skipper Rohit Sharma strikes a pose with the trophy. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/congress-spokesperson-udit-raj-calls-virat-kohli-as-anushka-sharmas-dog-in-his-tweet-over-diwali-crackers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Virat Kohli</a> has been leading India to glory and heights ever since he has taken the reins from MS Dhoni. Statistically, Kohli is not only the most successful skipper in the ODI format for India but one of the most in the history of the format. Out of the total 89 ODIs that Kohli has led India in, he has as many as 62 wins and merely 24 losses. Only three captains – Clive Lloyd (77.71), Ricky Ponting (76.14), and Hansi Cronje (73.70) – have a win percentage superior to that of Kohli (71.83).
In T20I cricket, too, Kohli has 22 wins to show in 37 matches as skipper, and his win-percentage of 65.71 is second to only Afghanistan’s Asghar Afghan’s 80.61 (minimum 30 matches a captain). Compared to Kohli, Rohit’s sample size is much smaller, although his rate of success in both the formats is promising. In 10 ODIs as skipper, Rohit has won 8 and lost 2, whereas, he has won 15 out of the 19 T20Is he has played as captain.
In Kohli’s presence, Rohit has hardly got opportunities to lead India in the limited-overs setup, however, given the latter’s incredible skill-set, there is little doubt about how well would he leave a mark if he is allotted the role.
<h3>3. Big-tournament skipper</h3>
<figure id="attachment_232061" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-232061" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-232061" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rohit-Sharma-5.jpg" alt="Rohit Sharma India" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-232061" class="wp-caption-text">Rohit Sharma. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Talent is a term often associated with Rohit Sharma. And little needs to be told about how much of that he has in him, both as a batsman and a leader. He might not have got too many chances, but the elegant batsman seamlessly melts himself in the boots of captaincy, and no wonder, he has ensured to bring laurels to the nation whenever he has gotten a chance to lead.
Despite his staggering win-percentage, Virat Kohli has not been able to lead India to a victory in any major world championship. Under him, India lost the Champions Trophy 2017 to Pakistan, whereas the most gut-wrenching defeat against New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup kept India devoid of inching closer towards the most celebrated trophy in the sport of cricket.
Contrastingly, Rohit Sharma has skippered India to victory in the Asia Cup in Dubai in 2018. Furthermore, his 15 T20I wins include the victories in the Nidahas tri-series in 2018, which India went onto clinch. Therefore, when it comes to leadership in the big-tournaments, Rohit’s credentials make a sturdy case.
<h3>4. Leadership instincts&nbsp;</h3>
<figure id="attachment_462167" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-462167" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-462167" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rohit-Sharma.jpg" alt="Rohit Sharma" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-462167" class="wp-caption-text">Rohit Sharma. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
Rohit Sharma is a natural leader. He is not the go-getter like Virat Kohli. He is not an in-your-face man like Ricky Ponting. He has an element of Sourav Ganguly when it comes to backing the players. When it is about holding the nerves under pressure, Rohit has an element of MS Dhoni. As was once pointed out by Mahela Jayawardene, one standout and similar trait of Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, is their quality trusting the instincts and then backing themselves.
How else does one describe the call of introducing Jayant Yadav, the spinner, in the fourth over, against an in-form Shikhar Dhawan, in an all-important IPL Final? That too notwithstanding the fact that two express pacemen – <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/jasprit-bumrah-is-best-t20-fast-bowler-in-the-world-shane-bond/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jasprit Bumrah</a> and Trent Boult – were wreaking havoc from both ends. Clearly, the ideal strategy would have been to continue with the pacers and give one of them an extended spell after MI reduced DC to 3 for 22.
However, not only did Rohit discontinue the spell of the pacer, but he introduced Jayant Yadav over Rahul Chahar, and his move paid off. A similar example of his captaincy prowess was his belief in Dinesh Karthik’s ability to finish games. It was Karthik’s cameo that led India to a historic win.
<h3>5. A team-man who backs to the hilt</h3>
<figure id="attachment_448508" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-448508" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"><amp-img class="size-full wp-image-448508" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Mumbai-Indians-1.jpg" alt="Mumbai Indians" width="640" height="400" layout="responsive" style="max-width: 100%; margin: 0;"></amp-img><figcaption id="caption-attachment-448508" class="wp-caption-text">Mumbai Indians. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
The task of a leader is multifold. While leading Mumbai Indians, Rohit has shown how good a team man he is. As a captain, Rohit has been astute enough to identify match-winners, build a team, and back the budding players until they come good.
It was the 2015 season of IPL that MI won their second title and when two of India’s current stars – <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/hardik-pandya-is-not-comfortable-at-the-moment-to-bowl-rohit-sharma/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hardik Pandya</a> and Jasprit Bumrah – developed immensely under his captaincy. Pandya became the answer to India’s all-rounder question with his hard-hitting abilities whereas Bumrah marked himself as one of the best bowlers in the world, with his ability in the death overs and subtle variations.
In the years that have followed, the likes of Mayank Markande and Rahul Chahar have also blossomed under him and have got a look-in in the Indian T20I team.

For reasons of its own, it has become a recurring quandary. Should India adopt slit captaincy? Is the time right to shift some duties to Rohit Sharma? However, over time, the dynamics of the question have changed. It is no more just about splitting the burden, freeing someone up. It is no more just about man-management either. It is about the criminal underutilization of a skill lying vacant, left to be rusted.
While the cricketing world is often awed by what Rohit does with his bat, his captaincy is not given as much admiration it deserves. Certainly, he is one of the better willow wielders of the generation, although his greatness is not restricted to his magic with the bat. The furore of giving the captaincy to Rohit Sharma has been fuelled once again after he has led Mumbai Indians to an unprecedented fifth IPL title.
To appraise Rohit’s leadership skills is, by no means, an attempt to denigrate that which Virat Kohli is capable of. However, Rohit, the leader, has been way too accomplished to not be considered for the job. India’s incumbent skipper Virat Kohli has been spot on while wearing the hat of captaincy in all the formats, however, at least in limited-overs cricket, his compatriot Rohit surely deserves a look-in.
The depth of this debate is profound, and, of course, there are many more reasons than the five enlisted underneath. However, these five are un-ignorable, to say the least.
<h3>Here are five reasons why Rohit Sharma should lead India in limited-overs &#8211;</h3>
<h3>1. Phenomenal success in the IPL</h3>
<figure id="attachment_464282" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-464282" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-464282" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rohit-Sharma-captain-of-Mumbai-Indians.jpg" alt="Rohit Sharma captain of Mumbai Indians" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-464282" class="wp-caption-text">Rohit Sharma captain of Mumbai Indians. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
6 as a player; 5 as skipper – that is how bizarre Rohit’s success rate in the Indian Premier League is. Not to forget, these five titles have come in merely eight years of captaincy. He is, by some distance, the most successful captain in IPL history. And the feat might not have been as phenomenal, had it been another league. But five titles in eight as skipper in a league as supremely, cruelly competitive as IPL? This is a mind-baffling rate of success.
Charting Mumbai Indians’ success over the years in the IPL, one man who appears highly responsible for it is no one but Rohit Sharma. He took over the duty from <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/different-people-different-rules-harbhajan-singh-after-suryakumar-yadav-didnt-find-a-place-in-indias-squad-for-australia-tour/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Harbhajan Singh</a> in 2013 and got the team to its first title with admirable immediacy. Then 2015, 2017, 2019, and when the odd-year success formula began to appear a norm, the team broke it with such chutzpah in 2020.
Rohit has led MI to 68 wins in 116 IPL matches: a win percentage of 60.34%. Therefore, he happens to be the most successful captain in the history of the IPL (in terms of match win percentage; min 10 matches as captain).
<h3>2. Stupendous record in limited-overs</h3>
<figure id="attachment_232237" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-232237" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-232237" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rohit-Sharma-6.jpg" alt="Rohit Sharma" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-232237" class="wp-caption-text">Indian skipper Rohit Sharma strikes a pose with the trophy. (Photo Source: Twitter)</figcaption></figure>
<a href="https://www.crictracker.com/congress-spokesperson-udit-raj-calls-virat-kohli-as-anushka-sharmas-dog-in-his-tweet-over-diwali-crackers/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Virat Kohli</a> has been leading India to glory and heights ever since he has taken the reins from MS Dhoni. Statistically, Kohli is not only the most successful skipper in the ODI format for India but one of the most in the history of the format. Out of the total 89 ODIs that Kohli has led India in, he has as many as 62 wins and merely 24 losses. Only three captains – Clive Lloyd (77.71), Ricky Ponting (76.14), and Hansi Cronje (73.70) – have a win percentage superior to that of Kohli (71.83).
In T20I cricket, too, Kohli has 22 wins to show in 37 matches as skipper, and his win-percentage of 65.71 is second to only Afghanistan’s Asghar Afghan’s 80.61 (minimum 30 matches a captain). Compared to Kohli, Rohit’s sample size is much smaller, although his rate of success in both the formats is promising. In 10 ODIs as skipper, Rohit has won 8 and lost 2, whereas, he has won 15 out of the 19 T20Is he has played as captain.
In Kohli’s presence, Rohit has hardly got opportunities to lead India in the limited-overs setup, however, given the latter’s incredible skill-set, there is little doubt about how well would he leave a mark if he is allotted the role.
<h3>3. Big-tournament skipper</h3>
<figure id="attachment_232061" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-232061" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-232061" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rohit-Sharma-5.jpg" alt="Rohit Sharma India" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-232061" class="wp-caption-text">Rohit Sharma. (Photo Source: Getty Images)</figcaption></figure>
Talent is a term often associated with Rohit Sharma. And little needs to be told about how much of that he has in him, both as a batsman and a leader. He might not have got too many chances, but the elegant batsman seamlessly melts himself in the boots of captaincy, and no wonder, he has ensured to bring laurels to the nation whenever he has gotten a chance to lead.
Despite his staggering win-percentage, Virat Kohli has not been able to lead India to a victory in any major world championship. Under him, India lost the Champions Trophy 2017 to Pakistan, whereas the most gut-wrenching defeat against New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup kept India devoid of inching closer towards the most celebrated trophy in the sport of cricket.
Contrastingly, Rohit Sharma has skippered India to victory in the Asia Cup in Dubai in 2018. Furthermore, his 15 T20I wins include the victories in the Nidahas tri-series in 2018, which India went onto clinch. Therefore, when it comes to leadership in the big-tournaments, Rohit’s credentials make a sturdy case.
<h3>4. Leadership instincts </h3>
<figure id="attachment_462167" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-462167" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-462167" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Rohit-Sharma.jpg" alt="Rohit Sharma" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-462167" class="wp-caption-text">Rohit Sharma. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
Rohit Sharma is a natural leader. He is not the go-getter like Virat Kohli. He is not an in-your-face man like Ricky Ponting. He has an element of Sourav Ganguly when it comes to backing the players. When it is about holding the nerves under pressure, Rohit has an element of MS Dhoni. As was once pointed out by Mahela Jayawardene, one standout and similar trait of Rohit Sharma and MS Dhoni, is their quality trusting the instincts and then backing themselves.
How else does one describe the call of introducing Jayant Yadav, the spinner, in the fourth over, against an in-form Shikhar Dhawan, in an all-important IPL Final? That too notwithstanding the fact that two express pacemen – <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/jasprit-bumrah-is-best-t20-fast-bowler-in-the-world-shane-bond/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jasprit Bumrah</a> and Trent Boult – were wreaking havoc from both ends. Clearly, the ideal strategy would have been to continue with the pacers and give one of them an extended spell after MI reduced DC to 3 for 22.
However, not only did Rohit discontinue the spell of the pacer, but he introduced Jayant Yadav over Rahul Chahar, and his move paid off. A similar example of his captaincy prowess was his belief in Dinesh Karthik’s ability to finish games. It was Karthik’s cameo that led India to a historic win.
<h3>5. A team-man who backs to the hilt</h3>
<figure id="attachment_448508" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-448508" style="width: 640px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-448508" src="https://crictracker-admin-panel-08032022.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/media/attachments/Mumbai-Indians-1.jpg" alt="Mumbai Indians" width="640" height="400" sizes="(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px"><figcaption id="caption-attachment-448508" class="wp-caption-text">Mumbai Indians. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI)</figcaption></figure>
The task of a leader is multifold. While leading Mumbai Indians, Rohit has shown how good a team man he is. As a captain, Rohit has been astute enough to identify match-winners, build a team, and back the budding players until they come good.
It was the 2015 season of IPL that MI won their second title and when two of India&#8217;s current stars &#8211; <a href="https://www.crictracker.com/hardik-pandya-is-not-comfortable-at-the-moment-to-bowl-rohit-sharma/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Hardik Pandya</a> and Jasprit Bumrah &#8211; developed immensely under his captaincy. Pandya became the answer to India’s all-rounder question with his hard-hitting abilities whereas Bumrah marked himself as one of the best bowlers in the world, with his ability in the death overs and subtle variations.
In the years that have followed, the likes of Mayank Markande and Rahul Chahar have also blossomed under him and have got a look-in in the Indian T20I team.

Rohit Shamra might not have got too many chances to lead India, but he has ensured to bring laurels whenever the chance has arrived.

5 Reasons why Rohit Sharma should lead India in limited-overs format

Should India adopt slit captaincy? Is the time right to shift some duties on Rohit Sharma? For reasons of its own, it has become a debate.