Is Rohit Sharma’s Test captaincy under threat following WTC loss?

Rohit Sharma (Pic: AFP)

Following India's 209-run loss in World Test Championship (WTC) final, Rohit Sharma's captaincy has been a major talking point. The question being raised is whether Rohit Sharma will continue to be the Indian Test captain for the next Test cycle, considering his current form and the team's recent performance.

There is no imminent threat to Rohit Sharma's Test captaincy but he will need to rake up some significant numbers in the upcoming Test series against West Indies to eliminate doubts about his leadership in the traditional format.

Rohit will lead India in the two-Test series in the West Indies, following which his future in the traditional format will be decided.

It is believed that unless Rohit himself decides to stay away from two-Test series against West Indies starting in Dominica from July 12, he will be leading the team.

However the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the national selection committee will be under pressure to take a tough call if he fails to deliver at least one big knock either at Dominica or at Port of Spain during the second Test.

"These are baseless stuff that Rohit will be removed from captaincy. Yes, whether he will last the whole two-year WTC cycle is a big question as he would be nearly 38 when the third edition ends in 2025," a senior BCCI source told PTI on conditions of anonymity.

"As of now, I believe that Shiv Sunder Das and his colleagues will have to take a call after the two Tests and looking at his batting form."

The BCCI works differently from other sporting organizations, believing that decisions should not be taken during the period of intense criticism.

"After West Indies, we have no Tests till December-end when the team travels to South Africa. So there is enough time for selectors to deliberate and take a decision. By then the fifth selector (new chairman) will also join the panel and a decision can be taken, he added.

Those who are aware about developments in Indian cricket know that once Virat Kohli quit Test captaincy after series defeat in South Africa, Rohit wasn't very keen to become the leader in longest format initially as he wasn't sure whether his body would hold or not.

"The two top men at that time (former president Sourav Ganguly and secretary Jay Shah) had to convince him to take up the role once KL Rahul failed to impress as a captain in South Africa," the source said.

Barring a classy 120 against Australia on a challenging Nagpur track, Rohit hasn't been consistent in delivering the kind of performance that is expected from a player of his calibre.

Since Rohit took over Test captaincy in 2022, India played 10 Tests and he missed three due to different reasons. He scored 390 runs in 7 Tests and had an average of 35.45 in 11 completed innings with a single hundred and no other score above 50.

In that same phase, Virat Kohli played all 10 Tests, scoring 517 runs in 17 innings with 186 against Australia at Ahmedabad being his best.

Cheteshwar Pujara in the same phase played eight Tests and scored 482 runs in 14 innings with two unbeaten knocks at an average of 40.12. But one needs to factor, scores of 90 and 102 came against a weak Bangladesh attack.

The selectors know that in the next three years, all three big players on the wrong side of 35 can't constitute the top-order of India and hence tough calls will need to be made, considering the future.

(With PTI inputs)

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