Top 3 Contenders to Replace Rohit Sharma as Captain

With his poor batting in the last 15 innings and disappointing the nation with his captaincy, Rohit Sharma has lost five of the last seven test matches. Now, dark clouds hover over his selection in the playing XI. Moreover, an important question arises: who will be the captain of Team India if he is dropped from the team? In this article, we will discuss which players can take over the role of India's next Test Captain.

Rohit was unavailable for the first test of this series in Perth as he was on paternity leave. He later joined the team for the second test match in Adelaide. Since then, India has lost two out of three matches in the series, while the third match was a draw. Before, in the last test series against New Zealand at home, India experienced a huge setback when New Zealand defeated India by 3-0. After twelve years, this was the first home series defeat, along with a clean sweep at home after decades. In the last six test matches where Rohit led the team, Team India has lost 5 of them, a kind of record no one wants to have after his name. This kind of record will certainly attract the Board's attention and action, which might lead to dropping Rohit Sharma from the team and replacing him with the new captain. 

Rohit's Crisis: Beyond His Leadership

One primary reason behind this discussion about Rohit Sharma's future is his poor batting form. He hasn't scored any half-centuries in the last 16 innings. Rohit scored just 31 runs in his five innings in this test series, with scores of 3, 6, 10, 3, and 9, with an average of 6.20.

Top 3 contenders to replace Rohit Sharma as Captain

Jasprit Bumrah 

Jasprit Bumrah, India's premier pacer and vice-captain, is at the peak of his career with his lethal bowling against Australia. In this series, he has taken 30 wickets so far. In the first test match, he handled the team very well and efficiently, and the team ended up winning the game. He is a senior player in the team and will likely be the most likely choice of the board and team management in this case.

Rishab Pant 

The second option could be Rishab Pant, a 27-year-old wicketkeeper who is now a permanent player of the team and has been in the team for more than 6 years. It's his third Australia Tour. He played a key role in winning the last Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2020/21 with his heroic innings in Brisbane, where Team India defeated Australia for the first time at The Gabba. He has been leading Delhi Capitals in the IPL for the last few years. Though both formats have vast differences and require different leadership skills, He is also a strong contender in the Captain’s race.

KL Rahul 

The floating batter of the team, who opened for the team in the first three matches and played at number 3 in the Boxing Day Test Match, will also be one of the captaincy's contenders if the board drops Rohit Sharma. He was the captain of the Lucknow Supergiants in the IPL and will lead the Delhi Capitals this year. Given his leadership skills, he is also a front-runner in the race.