In Indian cricket teams, the change of captains is not always smooth. When a strong prospect enters the race while a seasoned professional is still in place, things become more challenging. This moment is a prime example of this. While the BCCI has not clarified whether Hardik Pandya is the long-term choice to lead India’s Twenty20 team, the player has made comments that suggest the same or more. However, captain of all formats Rohit Sharma has also said that he has not taken any decision on his T20 future.
An ode to my tenure with the Indian cricket team. #must read
now available on @amazonIN https://t.co/4S7eOPi4qV@Rupa_Books @coachingbeyond_#coachingbeyond pic.twitter.com/sqwe3vqJZd— R Sridhar (@coach_rsridhar) January 5, 2023
Even during the days of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, when he was a successful captain, there was debate as to who would lead the limited overs team if he decided to retire from Test cricket (2014–15). Concerns arose about Dhoni’s future as leader of the white-ball team after Virat Kohli assumed control of the Test team. Such a situation could lead to two power centers in the team, but coach Ravi Shastri handled it successfully by instructing Kohli. This information was made public in R Sridhar’s new book, “Coaching Beyond – My Days with the Indian Cricket Squad”, authored by cricket writer R Kaushik. Sridhar was the fielding coach of the Indian team at that time.
After being named the captain of the Test team, Sridhar insisted that Kohli was very keen to take over as captain for the white-ball team as well. Virat had once in 2016 expressed a strong desire to lead the white-ball team. Sridhar writes in his book, which mostly focuses on his seven-year coaching stint with the Indian cricket team as a member of the support staff led by Shastri. , “He said things that indicated he was vying for the captaincy. Shastri intervened and asked Kohli to wait until Dhoni handed him the white-ball responsibility.”
“One evening, Ravi called him up and said, ‘Look, Virat, MS has given you (the captaincy) in red-ball cricket. You have to respect that. He will give you a chance in limited-overs cricket too, when the time comes. Will be right. Unless you respect him now, tomorrow when you are the captain, you will not get respect from your team. Respect him now, whatever is happening. It will come to you, you don’t have to run after it’ .
When Dhoni stepped down as India’s captain across formats in 2017, Kohli heeded the advice and performed well. As their relationship grew stronger, Dhoni played for Kohli for the remainder of his career, enthusiastically contributing his ideas. After the 2021 T20 World Cup, Kohli stood down as India’s T20I captain, serving as captain until 2022. He wanted to retain his position as ODI captain, but the BCCI chose Rohit in his place. After the 2022 tour of South Africa, Kohli also relinquished the Test captaincy.