Indian white-ball captaincy is up for grabs. That is how it looks like. Over the last one year, there were far too many captains in various formats. Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Rahul. It was just like musical chairs. It certainly looked like the selectors were unsure what to do. They did not seem to have a proper plan. This blog is about the Indian captaincy musical chair.
Back in 2020, when an Indian team was committed to play against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka, the Indian team led by Virat Kohli was in England. They were in the interim period between the end of the WTC finals and the start of the England series. There was more than a month between these games. However, the Covid protocols made it impossible for the same team to travel to Sri Lanka and England because of quarantine, the fear of someone in the team being affected by the virus, bio-bubble and various other factors. It would not have made any sense for the Kohli-led team to be playing in Sri Lanka in such a grim scenario.
The Sri Lankan scenario
Hence, a second team was sent instead. The series consisted of 3 ODIs and 3 T20s and it was led by Shikhar Dhawan. It made perfect sense because Dhawan being the senior-most and having played quite a few impressive knocks in ODIs, he was rightly made the captain though my choice was Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. Though I wasn’t in favour of Dhawan for T20s, outside of the original squad, he is certainly good enough to be part of the squad in the second team. Infact, he won the ODI series quite handsomely and if not for Covid striking the entire Indian camp, India would have won the T20 series too. It was only to be expected that in the event of the Indian regulars taking a break, Dhawan will be the natural choice to be the captain.
However, it wasn’t to be.
Far too many captains
Suddenly, with Rohit not playing and Kohli having relinquished the captaincy, it was Rahul who was leading the team in South Africa in the ODIs. This despite the fact that Dhawan was in the playing eleven. One can argue that Rahul afterall, is a regular in all the formats. It was only natural that he be named the captain. Well, Rahul wasn’t a regular even in the white ball format unless he could keep wickets too. Dhawan is much more experienced and he could command a spot in the playing eleven in ODIs because of the runs he has scored.
If this wasn’t enough, Rishabh Pant, whom himself is struggling in T20 cricket, was made the captain against South Africa for the T20 games. This time, Dhawan wasn’t in the squad but it still contained Kumar. BCCI may say that Rahul was injured and hence Pant became the captain and that they were looking for consistency by continuing with Rahul. It was always on the cards when Pant was named Rahul’s deputy that he will take over if Rahul was injured.
Now, the baton has been passed onto Hardik Pandya for the couple of T20s in Ireland. This is despite the fact that Kumar is still in the team. Atleast, this time, he is the vice captain. This truly is musical chairs. Indian captaincy, a coveted role for which so many players in the past, have been distributed like Covid masks.
My vote is for Kumar
What is the problem with Kumar? Unlike Pant or Pandya, Kumar has been a regular in ODIs and T20s. Yes, he has missed games because of injury but both Pandya and Pant were dropped on form. So was Rahul. Why couldn’t he be trusted with the captaincy? With his bowling, he has proved that he is a shrewd operator. There is no rule that states that a bowler must not be the captain. Cummins is doing well for Australia and so why can’t Kumar be of the same level in limited-overs? Ideally, it must have been Kumar from Sri Lanka. It would have atleast ensured consistency. Rohit is the first-choice captain but in his absence, Kumar must have been the automatic choice. Rahul & Pant have shown that they have a longway to go in terms of captaincy.
Conclusion to Indian captaincy musical chair
If the Indian selectors have any vision, I would like to know that. It can understand that Rohit may not be around in a couple of year’s time and that a new captain must be groomed. With his fitness being too low, I do not see Rohit playing after 2 years. However, that doesn’t mean that the captaincy can be handed out to anyone like peanuts. Test cricket is a different ball game altogether but in ODI & T20, Kumar will be the best bet even in the presence of Rahul or Pant or Pandya. With him restricted to limited-overs cricket, he can very well extend his career for a few years and by that time, there maybe few other captaincy options are thrown in.