Kamal Ghorui
Rohit Sharma’s bat went quiet during India’s humiliating home ODI series loss to New Zealand last week, but former India batter Manoj Tiwary believes the 38-year-old should be handed back the captaincy without delay. India suffered their first home ODI series defeat to New Zealand in more than 30 years, with Shubman Gill enduring a difficult start to life as captain in the format. Gill had already overseen a 2-1 series loss in Australia in October, and the setback at home has only added to the pressure.
India did manage a 2-1 ODI series win against South Africa in December, but Gill missed that assignment due to injury, with KL Rahul stepping in as captain. With results failing to improve under Gill, Tiwary questioned the logic behind moving on from Rohit so soon after a major title triumph. “What was the need to remove Rohit Sharma from the captaincy? I’m pretty sure that if Rohit were leading even today in the ODIs, it would have been a different result altogether,” Tiwary said in an interaction with InsideSport. “Because when he won the Champions Trophy, I think the team was going forward in the right direction.” Asked directly if the management should replace the 26-year-old Gill and reinstate Rohit as captain, Tiwary did not hesitate. “Yes, absolutely. That’s what I’m suggesting because there’s still time to course correct. It’s about the World Cup. It’s not just about a bilateral series or a random tournament we are going to play,” he said. Tiwary stressed that Rohit’s leadership experience currently far outweighs Gill’s, especially with a World Cup scheduled for next year. “Rohit is not a little better than Shubman, but a lot better, currently. That’s why he’s such a successful captain,” Tiwary said. “You can win it with Shubman’s captaincy, but I’m suggesting comparing the captaincy of both. If Rohit becomes the captain, what is the percentage chance of winning? And if Shubman leads, what is the percentage chance of winning? I think everyone will say that if Rohit is the captain, then there is an 85 to 90 per cent chance of winning the World Cup.” Rohit entered the New Zealand series as the world’s No. 1 ODI batter after productive outings against Australia and South Africa, but managed only 61 runs across three innings. Gill, meanwhile, scored 135 runs in three innings, including two half-centuries, as India’s opening partner outperformed the former captain with the bat.
