The long-running drama that eventually ended with Virat Kohli relinquishing Test captaincy is well known among fans.
Though Rohit Sharma had taken over the Test, ODI and T20I captaincy from Kohli, there have been rumblings in the Indian cricket circle, thanks to Rohit's failure to lead India to the 2022 T20 World Cup title and most recently, the 2023 World Test Championship win.
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MSK Prasad, former Chief Selector of the BCCI, has raised questions over India’s captaincy choice in Tests. Prasad - who served as Indian Team’s Chief selector from 2016 to 2020 - has explored the idea of bringing back Virat Kohli as the team’s captain in Tests.
He believes that it is time for the selection panel to look beyond Rohit Sharma, and probably get back to the road taken in the past, and re-appoint Kohli as the Test captain.
When did Kohli step down as India's Test captain?
Kohli stepped down from Test captaincy after India’s series defeat to South Africa in 2022 away from home. India lost the series 2-1 despite winning the first Test. Rohit Sharma has been the Test captain ever since though KL Rahul did stand in as skipper during India's two-Test series in Bangladesh.
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What did MSK Prasad say about giving captaincy back to Kohli?
"Why not Virat Kohli? When Ajinkya Rahane can come back and become the vice-captain (in the WTC final), then why not Virat Kohli? I don’t know what the mindset of Virat is on the captaincy. In case selectors are thinking beyond Rohit, I don’t know whether they are thinking but if they are thinking beyond Rohit, then I think Virat can also be an option,” said Prasad.
Is Rohit Sharma's captaincy under threat?
As of now, Sharma’s captaincy role is under no threat. However, things could change if he fails to deliver during the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup.
The BCCI has already thought to have moved on from the era of Rohit and Kohli in the shortest format. The duo has not played a single T20I since the T20 World Cup 2022.
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Is Virat Kohli India's most successful Test captain?
Kohli is India’s most successful captain in Tests. He has a win percentage of over 58, with 40 wins in 68 matches - surpassing Dhoni’s record of 27 wins in 60 Tests.
Kohli had a better away record than Dhoni as well, winning more tests in Australia and South Africa. Kohli led India to a WTC Final in 2021, where India were beaten by New Zealand.
| Matches as Captain | Won | Lost | Tie | Draw | Win % |
| 68 | 40 | 17 | 0 | 11 | 58.82% |
What is Rohit Sharma's record as India Test captain?
The career of Rohit Sharma as a Test captain is at a very early stage. He has captained the country in seven tests - winning four and losing two. India also lost the World Test Championship Final 2023 to Australia under the leadership of Rohit Sharma.
| Matches as Captain | Won | Lost | Tie | Draw | Win % |
| 7 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 57.14% |
