The BCCI recently announced that India will be travelling to Sri Lanka to take on the island nation in the white-ball format. Though this will coincide with India’s stay in England for the World Test Championship Final as well as the Test series against the home side there, Team India will be sending a different team to Sri Lanka comprising of white-ball specialists.
India will take on Sri Lanka in three ODI matches and five T20Is. Former spinner Pragyan Ojha reckons that either one of Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul or Shikhar Dhawan should be appointed as the captain of the side as the seniors and regulars will be busy in England during that period. He also suggested that the selectors should look at someone who can lead the side in the future when Virat Kohli’s tenure comes to an end.
“When you talk about a new team, you need a guy who has experience. If Shreyas Iyer or KL Rahul is available then one of these two guys can be the Indian captain or if Shikhar Dhawan is there.
“Out of these three guys you can have one because your captain has to be experienced to handle things. But if you ask me, I can think out-of-the-box at times when you can give a new team and try to build a new captain. Someone who is young and can be your next captain in the years to come, this (SL tour) is a great opportunity.
“This used to happen with the India A team, lot of people who captained that team went on to play for the country. It’s a great responsibility when you are thinking out-of-the-box, this is not a conventional thought,” Ojha told Sports Today.
Pragyan Ojha also mentioned that though he firmly believes that Shikhar Dhawan has the necessary pedigree and experience to succeed in this role, the selectors should look at someone who will be able to provide at least another seven eight years to the national side.
“One team is playing Test cricket in England, the other one is playing limited-overs formats in Sri Lanka which is out-of-the-box thinking. You can also do out-of-the-box thinking about players who can be a leader in the future, I’m talking about people like Shreyas and Rahul.
“Shikhar can contribute as a player but when you look at the leadership qualities, especially from this tour you need someone who can be built for the future. I feel India needs someone who can give the team at least 7-8 years of cricket and be the next captain in the years to come,” he concluded.
