Former Indian fast bowler Ajit Agarkar reckons Rohit Sharma will be confident as Test captain and the runs he scored in England will help him while leading the Test team for the first time.

Rohit has all the leadership experience under his belt and India has won all the 12 limited-overs matches under his captaincy since he has taken over the baton from Virat Kohli.

Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma had proved his mettle as a Test opener as he scored 368 runs in four Test matches against England in tough conditions and it must have given him a lot of confidence. Before that, Rohit had done a great job while batting in the Indian conditions and he has definitely taken the opening role like fish to water.

Rohit has been performing well in Test cricket in the last couple of years and it will give him a lot of confidence when he lead the team against Sri Lanka in Mohali.

“Firstly, it will be a huge honour for him. Yeah, he has led India for a few games in white-ball cricket, not just as full-time captain but before as well,” Agarkar told Star Sports.

“The one thing that will do him good is the series that he had in England. The batting would have given him a lot of faith. As a leader, you want to be one of the better players in the team so that you can demand things from other people.

“Plus, he has got the necessary experience in terms of captaincy.”

Meanwhile, Rohit has never led the national team in red-ball format and it will be different kettle of fish for him. However, leading in favorable Indian conditions will help Rohit in his new role.

“Test cricket will be a bit different but at least he is starting in India where the conditions are familiar. It’s a very strong squad that India has, I don’t think it will be a problem for him,” Agarkar added.

India will face Sri Lanka in the first Test match in Mohali.