Dubai, (Samajweekly) Outgoing India head coach Ravi Shastri feels that the team has got a very capable guy in Rohit Sharma to take over the mantle of T20I captaincy from Virat Kohli. He added that with Sharma having already won multiple IPL trophies and served as vice-captain for long, he is very much ready in the wings to take up the job. Sharma is tipped to be the T20I skipper, starting from the home series against New Zealand after Kohli’s tenure ended with India not qualifying for the semi-finals of ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
“I think in Rohit, you have got a very capable guy. He has won so many IPLs and has been the vice-captain of this side. He’s ready in the wings to take that job. As far as the T20 team is concerned, we will always have got a strong team. We might have not won this World Cup. But continuing forward, you will always have a very strong team because the IPL throws a lot of young players into the mix. Rahul will have his own ideas on how to take this team forward and I still see it as a very good team,” said Shastri in the post-match press conference after India won by nine wickets against Namibia on Monday.
Shastri was of the firm belief that the Indian team will soon get its hands on an ICC trophy. “For me, everything is important. If you are playing a big tournament or series, you play to win. So, it’s not happened this time. But it will happen another time for this team. They are far too talented not to get something like a big trophy in their hands soon. Just like they did in Australia twice. They are up in England now. The way they played bilateral cricket in the white-ball series. Somewhere down the line, things should go their way. The rub of the green should go their way.”
“We were disappointed with the first two games here. We lacked the daring in the second game against New Zealand. I know how important the toss is and as seen in the last three games, how important it is. I do feel it will continue to be important not as much as the weather has cooled down a bit. It’s something for the boys to learn and they will get an opportunity again next year. It’s not often you have World Cups in 12 months. Hopefully, they will go and kick some butt there.”
Shastri also felt that split captaincy could turn out to be a good thing especially in the time of bio-bubble. “I think it’s not such a bad thing because of bubble and the amount of cricket being played. The players need to be rotated around and given the space, they need to spend some time with their families, see their parents. Because when a guy doesn’t go home for six months, he might have his family with him. But if he’s got parents and other family and you don’t get a chance to see them, it’s not easy at all. So, it’s not such a bad thing.”
At the same time, he was appreciative of the team doing well despite being in bio-bubbles for a long time though he warned that the bubble could burst anytime. “When you are six months in a bubble, there are a lot of players in this team who play all formats of the game and in the last 24 months, they have been home for 25 days. I don’t care who you are. If your name is Bradman, if you are in a bubble as well, your average will come down because you are human.”
“This is not where you just put petrol in the backside and then expect the guy to move on in an overdrive. It doesn’t happen that way. So, I think it’s tough times. That’s why I say in life, it’s not what you accomplish. It’s what you overcome and that’s what this team has done. They have shown the drive to hang in there. No complaints, but sooner or later, the bubble will burst. So, you got to be careful.”
