MSK Prasad speaks on chances of split captaincy in Team India

MSK Prasad’s tenure as chief selector of India’s national selection panel finally came to an end this month. His tenure would have ended last year only but he was given an extension due to various reasons. Prasad had an interesting ride as the chief selector. During his tenure, India did quite well across formats but he still faced criticism for numerous reasons.

India reclaimed the number one Test ranking during his stint and are at top of the rankings for more than three years now. India won a historic Test series in Australia but Prasad & Co. faced criticism when the team lost Test series in South Africa and England. In ODIs, India won a series in South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand.

But the ex-chief selector still faced the heat when the Men in Blue lost the final of the 2017 Champions Trophy and the semifinal of last year’s World Cup. But overall, India did well during his tenure across formats. Barring a few hiccups, India’s performance in all the three formats was consistent. Prasad should also be given credit for the way his panel developed a solid bench strength for India.

MSK Prasad on the split captaincy

With his stint coming to an end now, MSK Prasad was asked whether the idea of split captaincy crossed his mind while he was the chief selector. Barring New Zealand, India are the only other major team in the world who are led by the same man across formats. While Virat Kohli has done extremely well as captain, there have been calls from several quarters to name Rohit Sharma as the captain of one of the limited-overs teams. However, Prasad holds a different view.

“Virat has led the team extremely well for the past few years, with a very high percentage of success across all formats. Having said that, Rohit also holds a good record in the limited opportunities he had in leading the team,” he told Indian Express.

“I don’t think it is appropriate to talk about Virat’s form and attribute it to his captaincy, as he was outstanding across formats for the last three years. You cannot pinpoint his failure in only one series, which he had in the last few years. After all, he is human and this kind of average series will happen in one’s career,” he added when asked whether Rohit should be made captain of one of the teams after Virat’s slump in form,” he concluded.