BCCI contemplates Split captaincy in India; Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya in contention
Just like an M.Night Shyamalan classic.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has chosen not to immediately renegotiate the contracts of the sitting national selectors, with a new panel in charge of picking distinct captains for all forms, just over a week after India’s exit from the T20 World Cup.
The BCCI has opted not to extend the tenure of the Chetan Sharma-led selection committee and has invited applications for five positions.
The new panel will be responsible for “appointing captaincy for the team in each format.”
After being eliminated in the T20 World Cup semi-finals by England, India’s biggest ICC trophy drought continued.
BCCI considers split captaincy for ODIs and T20Is
The team is currently led by Rohit Sharma in all forms, while Hardik Pandya is the captain during the ongoing limited-overs tour of New Zealand. Pandya is the favorite to take over in the shortest format, having led Gujarat Titans to the Indian Premier League title in their first season. Another potential captaincy candidate, Jasprit Bumrah, is now injured and it remains to be seen what happens when he returns.
Rohit is already 35 years old, and the Board may want to maintain him as captain for next year’s 50-over World Cup on home ground, with Pandya being nurtured with the following T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the United States in mind. The majority of the senior players that competed in the latest edition in Australia are unlikely to return for the future event.
It has been learned that head coach Rahul Dravid’s job is not in jeopardy.
According to the job requirements established by the BCCI, the new selection committee will be responsible for planning and preparing a solid bench for the senior men’s squad.
While it remains to be seen whether the BCCI would proceed with split captaincy, with the amount of games and workload management becoming an issue, having two captains share the burden makes sense.
It has undoubtedly been the template that other nations such as Australia and England have been following for some time, so it only makes sense that the BCCI should also wake up before it is too late.
PTI provided input.
