Swashbuckling batsman Rohit Sharma, who was appointed as India’s limited-overs captain a couple of months back, has been appointed as captain in the red-ball format. He will now lead India across all the formats.
Incidentally, the position was vacant after Virat Kohli had stepped down from the Test captaincy after the South Africa tour. The decision came after India’s humiliating 1-2 defeat against the Proteas.
Since then, a lot of names were going around to be India’s next captain in the longest format of the game. The likes of KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant were up there for consideration but the selectors preferred Rohit, who comes in with abundant experience.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma has witnessed severe growth as a Test cricketer in the last few years since he was promoted to open the innings. Since then, he has been an integral part of the side and how has been rewarded with the Test captaincy.
Rohit’s Test average has jumped over 50 ever since he has started opening the innings. Overall, he has amassed 3047 runs in 43 Test matches, at a pretty good average of 46.87.
The upcoming series against Sri Lanka will be Rohit’s first assignment as full-time Test captain. The first Test will now be held in Mohali from March 4th to 8th and the second Test will be played from March 12th to 16th in Bengaluru. The two-match series will be a part of the ICC World Test Championship.
India’s Test squad:Â Rohit Sharma (C), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat, Ravichandran Ashwin (subject to fitness), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Saurabh Kumar
