Former selectors back Rohit Sharma as 'fit choice' to replace Kohli as India's T20 captain

As soon as Virat Kohli announced that he will step down as India’s captain from the T20 format after the upcoming T20 World Cup, speculations and debates on who will be the man to replace him.

Kohli’s longtime deputy, Rohit Sharma, who has led the Indian white-ball side in the past in his absence seems to be the frontrunner for the position but the fans and watchers of Indian cricket have not ruled out names who are younger than Rohit and could serve Indian cricket for a long time.

People have flooded Twitter with possible names such as KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer as long-term replacements of Virat Kohli, but former chairman of selectors have backed Rohit’s credentials and experience as captain to take over the reins from Kohli.

Dilip Vengsarkar, who was the chairman of the selection committee in the year 2008 when both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were new to the international stage has backed the former’s candidature for India’s captain based on his successes with India in the past and the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

“Rohit deserves to be India's next T20 captain because he's done exceptionally well whenever he's been given an opportunity. In 2018, India won the Asia Cup under his captaincy. Besides that, he's been an exceptional captain for the Mumbai Indians,” Vengsarkar told TOI.

Another chairman of the selection committee, who gave Rohit an extended run in the side in the years 2012 when the Mumbaikar was going through a tough phase, saw him as a “fit choice” to replace Kohli as India’s leader in the shortest format of the game.

"Rohit (Sharma) has done a great job while leading the Mumbai Indians. I feel that he's a fit choice to replace Virat as the India T20 captain. Rohit has proved his mettle," Patil said to TOI.

Rohit appears to be the frontrunner to replace Kohli as the skipper himself called him an “essential part” of the leadership group. There is one more T20 World Cup scheduled for the next year and it is likely that the selectors will bank on the experience of Rohit for the big event before placing a bet on young or inexperienced players at the leadership level.

Discover more

IPL 2021 | Delhi Capitals maintain Rishabh Pant as captain for remainder of tournament

Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, who took over the captaincy of the Delhi Capitals in the first part of the 14th edition of the Indian Premier League will continue to lead the side in the second part of the tournament as well. The franchise released an official statement to confirm the news even as the regular skipper Shreyas Iyer has recovered from the injury and rejoined the side in UAE. Iyer had dislocated his shoulder in the ODI series against England and the Capitals had to elevate Pant to the leadership position. He led the side to the top of the points table with six wins out of the eight games played earlier this year. The franchise however has clearly stated that Pant will leading the side in the remaining part of the 14th edition but has not said on the long term prospects of either Pant or Iyer as the captain of the side. The Capitals will resume their campaign against the Sunrisers Hyderabad on September 22 in UAE.

Virat Kohli announces resignation from India's T20 captaincy after upcoming T20 World Cup

Virat Kohli has resigned from the captaincy of the Indian T2o side and will step down from the post after the conclusion of the upcoming T20 World Cup in UAE. More to follow

Liam Livingstone targets play-off spot for Rajasthan, cites IPL as perfect preparation for World T20

England bating sensation Liam Livingstone has echoed the sentiments shared by members of other international teams such as Australia and South Africa that there is nothing better than playing in the Indian Premier League in order to prepare for the upcoming T20 World Cup. He said that the experience of playing on the same pitches and at the same venues in the IPL where the T20 World Cup has been scheduled to be played will help players earn a significant understanding of the conditions. "There is no better preparation than playing matches on the pitches on which you will be playing World T20 and I guess that's the nice part of it. We have a lot of our guys coming on to play competitive cricket leading up to the World Cup and there will be 10 of us who will be here. Livingstone signed up to play for the Rajasthan Royals before the first part of the 14th edition of the IPL. However, he walked out of the tournament without featuring even in one game citing” bubble fatigue” at the time when there was a wide wave of Covid-19 spiralling out of control across the country. Now, after returning to the Royals camp, Livingstone felt “refreshed” having spent some time with the family. He said that being in Dubai will also help him to be more refreshed as players will be allowed to do more outdoor stuff than they were allowed in Mumbai during the first half of the tournament. "Last time was very different as we were stuck in a hotel room in Mumbai and I was already five to six months away from home during the winters. This is different as I have spent a lot of time over at home during the last few months and it was nice to get refreshed," he explained. “I feel a lot more fresher than what I did last time. Also, in Dubai, we have got a little more outdoor space and guess we can do a little bit more getting out than what we could have done in the middle of Mumbai. So last time, I made the right decision and so I do feel a lot more fresher this time." Livingstone’s withdrawal came at the worse time for the Royals as they were already reeling in the absence of Jofra Archer, who did not travel to India and Ben Stokes, who was ruled out of the tournament after sustaining a fracture in his finger. The duo will be missing in action from the second part of the tournament as well but Livingstone said that the Royals have a “good core” of overseas players along with a pool of talented young Indian players to fill that gap. He set his eyes in sight of a play-off spot for his franchise led by India’s Sanju Samson. "We have got a very good core of overseas players. Whatever be the make of the team, I still believe that we have got real quality to go through and there is young home (India) talent, which gives squad a nice look. Hopefully, I can perform for Royals and take the team to the play-offs,” Livingstone said. The Royals will restart their IPL 2021 campaign with a contest against the Punjab Kings on September 21 in Dubai and the men in pink will hope Livingstone’s ease of hitting sixes will propel them into a significantly better position from where they find themselves now with just three wins out of seven matches played in the first part of the tournament.

1st ODI Preview: Excited Pakistan face under-strength yet formidable New Zealand's challenge at home

A lot of change has occurred in the world and world of cricket since the time New Zealand played their last game on Pakistan soil in 2003. But now, as they have set foot in Pakistan and will come up against them in the first ODI of the series, it would be some sort of watershed moment for Pakistan, as a cricketing nation. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has had some tumultuous time convincing cricket boards across the world to tour Pakistan after the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team and hence the tour by New Zealand—first by a contemporary big team in the world will be a defining moment for them. “Finally, the day has arrived,” were the words of Pakistan captain Babar Azam while explaining the magnitude of the excitement of hosting New Zealand. Although the sides have excluded the series from ICC Qualifier for the 2023 World Cup, the “excitement” is palpable in both the camps as there are various context to to the series with a big T20 World Cup to follow in the next month. However, Pakistan would not be honest with themselves if they will not recognise that the Blackcaps are not at their full strength with many players missing the series due to the Indian Premier League, which they thought could provide equal preparation for the T20 World Cup. New Zealand have struggled in conditions that were heavily stacked in the favour of spinners in Bangladesh right before the series and Babar Azam and his men would be banking on the spinners to do the job well to win the eight-match long ODI and T20I series. New Zealand, on the other hand, fought well and limited the loss to a margin of 2-3 and improvement in batting and emergence of consistent and quality spinners will also give them promise in the series. Pakistan vs New Zealand: Match Details Match- 1 Venue: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi Date and time: September 17, 2021, 3:00 PM IST, 2:30 PM PST Pitch Report The pitches at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium are known to be flat and aiding stroke makers. The two Kookaburra balls will also come in handy for the batsmen if they see off the first few overs of the game. In the ODI series against Zimbabwe last year, batsmen made merry with the bat and piled on runs as bowlers struggled and the trend is likely to continue. However, there will be significantly better bowling will be on display from either side and hence batsmen’s impact could be limited. Team News Pakistan The hosts have already announced their 12-man squad for the first ODI and included the likes of Iftikhar Ahmed, leg-spinner Usman Qadir in the team. The trio of Shaheen-shah-Afridi, Hasan Ali and Haris Rauf will head the pace bowling department while the onus of spin bowling will fall on the shoulders of leg spinners Shadab Khan and the newcomer Usman Qadir. The batting department looks solid with Imam-ul-Haq at the top of the order with Fakhar Zaman who was in terrific touch earlier in the year against South Africa and Zimbabwe. Skipper Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan will give stability to the batting order while Iftikhar Ahmed, who is returning to the side for the first time since last year, will five flourish to the batting order. Probable XI Babar Azam (captain), Shadab Khan (vice-captain), Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hassan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper), Saud Shakil, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Usman Qadir, Zahid Mahmood. New Zealand New Zealand were handed another blow to their batting department as Tom Blundell was ruled out of the series after suffering an injury. The responsibility of the top order is likely to continue in the young hands of Rachin Ravindra, Fin Allen, and Will Yung while the experienced duo of the skipper Latham and Henry Nicholls will provide stability to the batting order from the number five and six positions. The emergence of new spin twins in Cole McConchie and Ajaz Patel, who ruled the show in Bangladesh will continue to search their domination against a better batting order led by Babar Azam in Pakistan. There should be a toss-up between Ben Sears and Hamish Bennett for the third pacer in the side as Scott Kuggeleijn and Jacob Duffy are all but certain to be the two pacers. Probable XI Finn Allen, Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Tom Latham (C & WK), Henry Nicholls, Daryl Mitchell, Cole McConchie, Scott Kuggeleijn, Ajaz Patel, Ben Sears/Hamish Bennett, Jacob Duffy