Rohit Sharma is not a long-term captaincy option – Former Selector

Former India selector Sarandeep Singh feels that Rohit Sharma can’t be a long-term captaincy option. He is set to replace Virat Kohli as a T20I captain as the latter will be stepping down from his post after the ICC T20 World Cup.

“Rohit is a good choice (for white-ball captaincy), he is among your best batters. But the call the selection committee has to take is whether to make him captain for a couple of years (till 2023 ODI World Cup) or find a leader who can lead the team for a long time,” Sarandeep told PTI in an interview.

“If they are looking at the bigger picture, K L Rahul and Rishabh Pant are good choices,” added Sarandeep.

He said the exclusion of Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel was not right. The former selector also questioned the selection of Hardik Pandya, who has struggled in all the departments of the game.

“Some of the selection calls were beyond me. Shami is one of India’s best bowlers but he is not as effective in T20s as he is in Tests and ODIs. Axar Patel was earlier in the squad but you brought Shardul in his place. He could have been your main bowler.

“Yuzi Chahal was performing for the last four-five overs and you don’t keep him in the squad. You say that he doesn’t bowl fast enough but we have been taught from day one that spinners are supposed to bowl slow and flight the ball,” said Sarandeep.