Virat Kohli reign as India’s T20I captain drew to an end. Graeme Swann declared his choice to succeed him as the country’s leader in the shortest version of the game.
While Rohit Sharma has been widely tipped to succeed Kohli. With both Kohli and outgoing head coach Ravi Shastri hinting that the Mumbai Indians captain is next in line in T20Is. Swann believes it should be someone with the long term in mind.
“Might be, but not for me (On Rohit being the next captain). You have to look to the future. I think India have a captain in waiting for the next 10 years. You know who I’m talking about, it’s Rishabh Pant.” he said
Therefore, Rishabh Pant captained the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2021. Taking them to the playoffs as league table-toppers.
“He did a great job in Delhi, he’s very level-headed and he seems like a sort of a mix between MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli. He’s very level-headed like MS Dhoni, but he’s got a bit of spirit about him, like Virat. Like how he laughs and giggles and is chirpy behind the stumps.” Swann said
Swann believes that, despite the fact that the next T20 World Cup is in 2022. India should look to the future when selecting a captain, since this will enable for longer-term success.
Rohit Sharma
“The only reason I’d say not Rohit Sharma is the age difference. With Rishabh Pant, you’ve got someone there for the next 10 years, whereas Rohit has been around a lot already. he said
“Rohit’s a brilliant skipper, we know that, and he’s done the job for Mumbai, so if he should take over, you’ve got a ready-made skipper. But if I were India, I’d think long-term and go for Rishabh Pant.” he added
The 42-year-old believes that teams like England used to make judgments based on the short-term, and that this strategy never worked out.
Graeme Swann went on to say that Virat Kohli was a good captain. But that the fact that he couldn’t add an ICC trophy to his collection would concern him.
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