Virat probably won't. His mind is saying 'I'm never captaining again': England great on Kohli leading India in Edgbaston

Veteran England all-rounder wants Virat Kohli to captain India in Edgbaston Test if Rohit Sharma is unavailable but he feels the former skipper may not take up the role.

Rohit Sharma's untimely Covid-19 infection has put the Indian cricket team in a fix. The uncertainty over Rohit's participation for the series-deciding Edgbaston Test starting July 1 has affected the team in more than one way as the star batter's unavailability will leave the team management with the task to find a new opener as Shubman Gill's partner, and more importantly, decide on a captain.

What are the odds of Virat Kohli captaining India in Edgbaston.   (Getty)

With designated vice-captain KL Rahul not part of the squad, the BCCI did not allocate the position to player. Presently, if Rohit fails to recover on time for the crucial Test Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah are the two contenders likely to lead. Pant has led Delhi Capitals in two seasons and recently captained India for the T20Is against South Africa, while Bumrah was named vice-captain for the ODIs in South Africa earlier this year.

However, there is one name that is secretly doing the rounds as a potential candidate to lead the side, that of former captain Virat Kohli. The possibility of it is slim as Kohli gave up India's Test captaincy willingly after the completion of the South Africa series, but then again, there can spring a surprise given the importance of this match. After all, it was under Kohli that India played spirited cricket and took a 2-1 lead in the series with wins at Lord's and Oval. Among those who want Kohli to captain is England all-rounder Moeen Ali, as he feels it will only be fitting to see Kohli – who started it last year – take up the role in Rohit's absence.

"It's a tough one. I was thinking about this last night. Because Virat was captain before of the same series last year, I would probably give it to him, yeah, for this one game. But it's obviously his call," Moeen told Sports Today.

The England all-rounder, who recently, un-retired from Test cricket, added that it may also be possible that Kohli turns the offer down if it's made to him. He feels Kohli's mind could be relaxed knowing he is only focussing on his batting and no longer dividing his attention towards the challenging job of captaining India again. Having said that, if it were up to Moeen, Kohli will be his man for the job.

"He probably won't want to do it. He is happy, his mind is relaxed and saying 'I'm never captaining Test cricket again'. So that can be also difficult but yeah, I think it's a good idea. He has got the experience and it's a big series for India," he pointed out.