Captain and chief selector want seam-bowling all-rounders to step up and expect pitches in Caribbean to aid spinners.
“How does it feel, Rohit, to captain somebody, then be captained (by the same person) and captain (that player) again?”
Rohit Sharma had been fashionably late. The India captain was in the building almost 45 minutes after the scheduled time for a press conference for which the selection committee chairman Ajit Agarkar arrived almost 45 minutes before time.
And by the time he settled into a comfy-looking leather chair and was asked the first question about India’s team for next month’s T20 World Cup, Rohit had the look of a man who would’ve preferred to be anywhere else but at the Wankhede Stadium.
“It’s part of life, not everything will go your way,” he said, trying to sound philosophical. “Before in my life, I have not been captain, so it’s nothing new to me. Whatever is there, is there and you go by it, do what is required from you. I have only tried to do that in the last month or so.”
No names were taken. But there were no prizes for guessing who was being referred to. In a season where he has been one of the most talked-about – rather, scrutinised – players, it was hardly surprising that the first question was about Hardik Pandya.
As Rohit and Agarkar sat there analysing India’s squad for the T20 World Cup, which begins on June 2, the topic of Pandya came up time and again.
First, it was the elephant in the room: the issue of captaincy. “Generally, as selectors, you want a leader,” Agarkar said. “Rohit has been a terrific leader – six months between the 50- over World Cup and this one. We had to make some decisions. I know Hardik led (in) a few series before that. But Rohit’s form during the World Cup… Rohit is a great player. It’s not like it’s forced upon us.”
