Gautam Gambhir Calls for India to Appoint Star Batter as White-Ball Captain: "It Would Be a Disappointment"

After Virat Kohli stopped being the captain, Rohit Sharma became the leader of Team India in all kinds of matches. India reached the last games in both the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) and the 2023 ODI World Cup with Rohit in charge. However, Australia won both those important matches.

Under Rohit's leadership, India finally won the T20 World Cup in 2024, which was hosted in the West Indies and the United States; this victory put an end to India's 11-year wait for an ICC trophy; the team didn't lose a single game in the tournament, due to the 37-year-old skipper's amazing guiding skills.

Before Rohit got the chance to lead the national team, he demonstrated his leadership skills by taking the Mumbai Indians (MI) to win five IPL championships. After MI bagged their fifth championship in 2020, Rahul Dravid, a former India player who's a head coach, gave many kind words about Rohit's manner of leading.

Dravid even said that India would be missing out if they didn't make Rohit the captain for the white-ball teams. This opinion was talked about a lot on ESPNcricinfo's T20 Time Out, "where it was mentioned that not having Rohit as India's captain would be India's loss, definitely not his. Being a top captain isn't simply because of the team's success; it's more than that but with Rohit, his five IPL victories speak volumes regarding his leadership."

Gautam Gambhir is the most misunderstood cricketer in India - @ashwinravi99

GREATEST TEAM MAN who will take a fight on for his team and players. Great reader of the game who has played selfless knocks through his career especially in the World Cup!

So well put 🙌🏼❤️ pic.twitter.com/3MPUhJBbUF

— Team Gautam Gambhir (@gautamgambhir97) October 4, 2023

Gautam Gambhir discussed how Rohit and MS Dhoni compare as IPL captains. "Gambhir highlighted that even though Dhoni is seen as India's top skipper because he won two World Cups and got five IPL trophies, Rohit has outdone him with five IPL wins. Gambhir believes that Rohit holds the title for the most successful captain in IPL". Dhoni and Rohit both now have the highest number of IPL championships as captains.

#OnThisDay in 2017

𝗥𝗼𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗮 made his Captaincy Debut in T20I format & the Rest is History 🔥🫡

62 matches || 50 Wins || 80.64 Win %

- Most Wins in T20I by any Captain (50)
- Highest Win % as Captain in T20I
- 1st Captain to Win T20WC Without losing match
-… pic.twitter.com/mKSBrACV4H

— 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒃𝒂𝒔 (@Shebas_10dulkar) December 20, 2024

Rohit Sharma's Legacy as Mumbai Indians Captain

Hardik Pandya took over the Mumbai Indians from Rohit, who had been captain since 2013 until 2023. Leading MI in 158 matches, Rohit helped the team win 87 times but also faced 67 losses, and there were four matches that ended without a winner. MS Dhoni was captain of CSK in 226 matches. Under his leadership, the team won 133 games, lost 91, and two games didn't end with any outcome. Rohit's time as IPL captain for Mumbai Indians definitely deserves a mention.