Now that Rohit Sharma is back in India’s T20 fold and leading the side in the ongoing Afghanistan T20Is, he appears to be the best in terms of his experience to captain Team India in the upcoming T20 World Cup, feels Yuvraj Singh.
“You need a very good captain because in T20s, if you lose the plot once, it’s very difficult to come back. The captain has to be really experienced to make that decision as to who bowls when.
“Rohit has won five IPL titles (for Mumbai Indians) while India also reached the (ODI) World Cup final in his captaincy. Don’t know what the selectors have in mind, but you need to have some guys with experience,” the former all-rounder told The Telegraph on the sidelines of the inauguration of Yuvraj Singh Centres of Excellence (YSCA) and Merlin Group’s high-performance centre at New Town on Saturday.
“When it comes to captaincy, you need to have two options: two from the current team and two from the future. If there’s Rohit and Hardik (Pandya) now, for the future in T20Is and in 50-over, I see Surya (Suryakumar Yadav) and Shubman (Gill).
“Also, you have to see that your next captain, after this T20 World Cup, should be able to serve for eight years at least. Injuries can happen any time and on the ground as well. So, I feel it’s always good to have two options,” Yuvraj, who represented India in 40 Tests, 304 ODIs and 58 T20Is, elaborated.
Rinku’s rise
Terming Rinku Singh as “probably the best left-hander in the India squad right now”, Yuvraj lauded the young middle-order batter’s ability to excel under pressure. He also sees shades of himself in Rinku.
“He’s someone who we need to look at in T20 and 50-over World Cups in the next four-five years at least. He knows when to attack, when to rotate the strike and he’s very smart in that.
“I really hope he’s given a longer rope as he’s someone who can win us games under pressure. Though I don’t want to put pressure on anyone, but yes, I believe Rinku has that skill to do what I used to and contribute at No.5 or 6,” Yuvraj emphasised.
Gill’s Test form
Yuvraj, who has mentored Shubman Gill, isn’t too happy with his current form in Test cricket. “Shubman has to do better in Test cricket and work harder there... If you want
to be the best player in the world, you have to do well in Test cricket.”
