Sign in

'It's an embarrassment of rich': Ex-England pacer wonders if 'it's the right time' for Kohli to be replaced by Rohit

Reacting to Rohit Sharma taking over Team India's ODI captaincy from Virat Kohli, former England pacer asks whether this was the right time for the BCCI to make the decision.

Updated on: Dec 12, 2021, 10:35:10 IST
By , NEW DELHI
Share
Share via
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
Copy link
  • copy link

Former England pacer Steve Harmison, while weighing in on BCCI handing India's ODI captaincy from Virat Kohli to Rohit Sharma, has asked whether now was the right time.

'It's an embarrassment of rich': Ex-England pacer wonders if 'it's the right time' for Virat Kohli to be replaced by Rohit Sharma (PTI)
'It's an embarrassment of rich': Ex-England pacer wonders if 'it's the right time' for Virat Kohli to be replaced by Rohit Sharma (PTI)

While speaking to former Australia spinner Brad Hogg in a video on his YouTube channel, Harmison quipped that it is important Kohli remains the Test skipper and also wondered whether the timing was right.

ALSO READ| 'Best innings from a touring side': Ex-Australia bowler lauds India batter's knock at Gabba after ENG's Ashes thrashing

"I think Virat's at a point now where he probably just wants to play. I think it's so important that for international Test match cricket that he keeps his captaincy because I think he drives Test match cricket in the right way. It's very important to him; he speaks about it passionately and he cares about it. And in the world of T20 and all these franchise leagues around the world, I think having a leader of a powerful nation like India wanting and driving Test cricket forward is a great thing for international cricket.

"From a one-dayer point of view, it's an embarrassment of rich. This team that India've got now in one-day cricket is nearly if not as good as England's pool of one-day players are to play that side so that format of the game. I just think is it the right time for him to pass the baton on to Rohit and say look, "it's your team now, 50 overs and 20 overs. You set the benchmark. You go out front and lead and I'll just drop back into being one of the lieutenants and play Test match cricket as a leader"? I think it's the right time," elaborated Harmison.

Kohli's next test will be against South Africa, where his team will play three Tests, the first of which is slated to begin on December 26.

Get live cricket scores, match updates, schedules, results and ICC rankings. Follow the latest news, statistics and performances of top teams and players on Hindustan Times.