Former England captain Michael Vaughan on Saturday gave a two-word verdict on Rohit Sharma being named as the new Test captain of the Indian cricket team, replacing Virat Kohli.
The announcement was made on Saturday after the chairman of selectors, Chetan Sharma, named the 18-member squad for the impending Test series against Sri Lanka.
Taking to Twitter, Vaughan wrote, “Great choice”
Kohli had stepped down from the role back in January this year after India's defeat in the Test series in South Africa. Rohit had automatically emerged as the frontrunner for the role having earlier being named as India's new Test vice-captain replacing Ajinkya Rahane.
"Rohit Sharma is number one cricketer of our country and the most important thing is that he is playing all the three formats," said Chetan as he clarified that Rohit was the "unanimous choice" and there was no discussion about any other names.
{{/usCountry}}"Rohit Sharma is number one cricketer of our country and the most important thing is that he is playing all the three formats," said Chetan as he clarified that Rohit was the "unanimous choice" and there was no discussion about any other names.
{{/usCountry}}Chetan however added that Rohit will be given breaks from the format owing to workload management and the team management is willing to manage that.
"The most important thing is how we manage Rohit. All the cricketers are professionals. They know their body and they manage their body and Rohit is absolutely (fit), there is no problem at all," he added.
The chief selector also named three cricketers who will be groomed under Rohit to take over the role in the future.
"We made KL the captain in South Africa. Bumrah was the deputy in South Africa and again for Sri Lanka series. In West Indies T20s, we had Rishabh as vice-captain. These are potential leaders to be groomed under Rohit.
"Yes, it is difficult to say who will be next captain but we are sure a name will emerge," the former fast bowler said.