Dilip Vengsarkar wants Rohit or Ashwin to become India’s next Test captain

Who’ll be India’s next Test captain? This has been the hottest topic of discussion in the cricket circuit lately. Virat Kohli shockingly stepped down from the position a day after India’s 2-1 Test series defeat against South Africa. As there are no straight-forward choices, it remains to be seen who succeeds Kohli as Test skipper. Meanwhile, former Indian batter Dilip Vengsarkar has named two potent options for the position.

Contrary to the popular opinion, Vengsarkar backed opener Rohit Sharma and off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and stated that the BCCI should go for a stop-gap arrangement for a year or so and try grooming a future captain in the meantime. Notably, Rohit already has the reins of the white-ball team. On the other hand, Ashwin has never led the national so far.

Rohit Sharma or R Ashwin can lead India for a year or so: Dilip Vengsarkar

“If you ask me, it may be a practical idea to have a stop-gap arrangement with Rohit Sharma or even Ravi Ashwin for a year or so and groom someone in the meanwhile”, said the former India cricketer to Gulf News. Interestingly, India’s current head coach Rahul Dravid had also stepped down from captaincy in a similar situation.

“Interestingly, my committee was faced with a similar situation when Rahul Dravid stepped down from captaincy and we had a demanding Australia tour round the corner. Some felt that MS Dhoni, who was leading in the shorter format, be promoted but we went ahead with Anil Kumble who did a fantastic job,” he recalled.

Vengsarkar also reckons that captaincy did not affect Kohli’s batting. He also feels that the “obsession with numbers” leads to unnecessary criticism of the batter.

“I don’t agree with this for I feel that Kohli has had a dream run for nearly five years as a batsman and captain. For all the talk about his current lean phase, I feel that Indians are often obsessed with statistics and that’s something that I don’t believe in”, opined Vengsarkar.