India legend's bold take on head coach Gautam Gambhir's split captaincy concept, says 'Imagine we have Surya...'

Indian women's cricket legend Anjum Chopra recently discussed the multiple captaincy options within the Men in Blue. She sees it as a positive sign for the team, highlighting their current status as World Champions. This abundance comes after Rohit Sharma, the previous all-format captain, announced his retirement from T20I cricket last month. This decision followed India's thrilling T20 World Cup victory over South Africa in Barbados on June 29, 2024. Rohit's captaincy stint culminated in India's third World Cup win, joining Kapil Dev and MS Dhoni in this prestigious club. Notably, he is the only player to contribute to both of India's T20 World Cup victories, having been part of the 2007 championship team as well. This World Cup triumph marked Rohit's first ICC trophy after facing defeats in the WTC and ODI World Cup finals last year.

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Former India captain Anjum Chopra, in a recent interview with MyKhel.com, shed light on the depth of leadership talent within the Indian men's cricket team. She pointed out that several players have experience captaining India in various capacities. These names include Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, and Shubman Gill. Each of these players has donned the captain's armband, showcasing their leadership abilities. Chopra even mentioned Sanju Samson, who has led the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL), further adding to the list of potential future leaders.

We have match winners in our team, we have captains in our team: Anjum Chopra

"At the end of the day, I think now, because we are world champions, we have match winners in our team, we have captains in our team. Imagine we have Surya, we have Rishabh, we have Hardik, we have Shubman, we have Bumrah. We have five which we can count clearly. Sanju if he makes it to the team. But at least we have five who have led the Indian team. So at least we have that option, and people have taken responsibility leading India. So that matters and is a good thing," Anjum Chopra said.

 

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Gautam Gambhir before becoming India's new head coach had weighed in on split captaincy. He had said that split captaincy is good for Indian cricket when Rohit Sharma became captain in 2021 after Virat Kohli. Later, Rohit Sharma went on to become the all-format captain.

 

The Indian cricket team has seen a revolving door of captains in the T20I format recently. This trend began in the 2022 T20 World Cup when Hardik Pandya led the team after the semi-final toss against England. However, an ankle injury during the 2023 ODI World Cup sidelined Pandya for nearly six months, opening the captaincy role for others. In Pandya's absence, Suryakumar Yadav stepped up and led the Indian T20I team in a couple of series. However, the return of a fit Rohit Sharma saw him reclaim the captaincy for the series against Afghanistan earlier this year. Rohit's subsequent retirement from T20Is created another opportunity for young players to showcase their leadership potential. The BCCI, recognising this opportunity, named Shubman Gill as captain of a second-string team for the recent T20I series against Zimbabwe. Gill proved his mettle by leading the team to a convincing 4-1 victory, despite a loss in the first match. This strong performance has likely put him in contention for the permanent T20I captaincy. With the selectors and head coach Gautam Gambhir involved, a final decision on India's next T20I captain is expected soon.

 

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