Indian cricket is at an interesting point right now. They had long and successful season prior to the IPL, mostly at home. And now, they begin a long and daunting season from next month, most of which will be overseas.
Virat Kohli, the Indian captain across all formats, is likely to be overburdened with a lot of stress in the coming days. It will be a massive challenge leading the national team across all formats especially on overseas tours for months. And when things start going wrong, which generally does for India, it is the captain who has to face the biggest brunt.
Now the question is: can India afford that happening to Virat Kohli? Kohli has been India’s best batsman across formats for quite a while now. India depends on him to do well. And Kohli relishes the challenge as well. However, one must understand that he is human too and the stress does get to him.
In the recent IPL, Kohli’s form suffered as his team performed poorly throughout the season. What was worse that Kohli also picked up a neck injury that has now forced him to back out of his one-month, six-match stint with Surrey that would have helped him get a feel of the English conditions before the all-important tour.
Given how much cricket Kohli plays and with such great intensity, he surely deserves a break. And one prudent thing to do might be to let him relinquish the T20I captaincy for India. The trick in international cricket is to manage workload of your best cricketers these days. Otherwise, they might easily implode. Kohli is a passionate cricketer and loves all challenges. But perhaps it is time for him to be step back a little from his responsibilities, especially in the T20 format for India. Handing over Rohit Sharma the T20I captaincy instead might work very well.
Rohit has been a fabulous captain for the Mumbai Indians in the IPL and has led them to two title victories. He enjoys the pressure and seems to be a very mature leader. He is also a significant part of India’s batting in T20I cricket and giving him the role of a leader as well could bring out the best in him while giving Indian cricket an ideal replacement for Kohli the leader.
Kohli needs to be rejuvenated and refreshed for the important tours in England and Australia. If he is forced to captain the T20I side, then there is no doubt that sooner rather than later Kohli will be mentally and physically drained out. He needs to recharge his batteries and given that he needs to be more focused on Test and ODI cricket at present, the best bet would be to give him some breather from the T20I role. He can of course be allowed to play in the World T20 for India. Given how magnificently he is in tune with the game, his T20 skills won’t rust that easily.
Moreover, this move can help rediscover the mojo in Rohit Sharma. He has been struggling with erratic form of late and it has been seen in the IPL how the role of a captain brought out the best in him as a batsman as well. Hence this is an idea worth trying out as it can be a win-win for both Kohli and Rohit – India’s star batsmen.
More importantly, however, the selectors must not forget that Virat Kohli is too precious a commodity for Indian cricket. And they have to do their best to protect him from the demanding workload that he is being subjected to currently. Right now, Kohli needs some rest and is on the verge of a burnout. Let Rohit Sharma take some of his responsibility and allow Kohli to recharge. That is the best way to proceed for Indian cricket’s future.