Rohit Sharma deserves to lead India in white-ball cricket, Rishabh Pant or KL Rahul can be groomed as vice-captain: Dinesh Karthik

Who should be India’s next T20I captain? This has been a burning question ever since Virat Kohli announced to step down from the position after of the T20 World Cup 2021. As the Indian team is slated to play three T20Is against New Zealand just days after the conclusion of the global event, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is expected to take the major decision soon.

With veteran batter Rohit Sharma being the vice-captain of the limited-overs team, he’s the front-runner to succeed Kohli. However, many believe the selectors should invest on a youngster with Rohit being 34. The likes of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant have become regulars of India’s limited-overs team and have severed their respective Indian Premier League (IPL) teams as captain.

As age is also on their side, several fans and experts reckon one of them should be groomed in the leadership role. However, veteran wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik isn’t of the same opinion. He believes Rohit Sharma should lead the team for at least a couple of years and his trusted successor can be groomed as vice-captain.

Rohit Sharma can be the captain for a couple of World Cups: Dinesh Karthik

“It would be fair to give Rohit Sharma the opportunity to lead India for a year or two in the white-ball format. He can be the captain for a couple of World Cups and during that time, there will be a toss-up between KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant for the vice-captain slot. Subsequently, the chosen one should be trusted with the leadership role over a period of time,” Karthik said in a video for Cricbuzz.

Highlighting that Rohit Sharma has led Mumbai Indians to five IPL titles, the 36-year-old reckoned the veteran batter deserves the chase to lead the national team.

“Indian team should go only because someone has won five IPL, the most high-pressure tournament in the whole world. You got to give him that credit and chance to represent the country as the captain. He has been really good in the limited time he led India in ODIs and T20Is. It shows he knows his skills,” added Karthik.