Rohit Sharma’s bat went silent during India’s humiliating ODI series loss at home to New Zealand last week, but former India batsman Manoj Tiwary believes the 38-year-old should regain the captaincy without delay. India suffered their first home ODI series defeat to New Zealand in over 30 years, and Shubman Gill had a tough start to his life as captain in the format. Gill had already suffered a 2-1 series defeat in Australia in October, and the setback at home has only increased the pressure.
India recorded a 2-1 victory in the ODI series against South Africa in December, but Gill missed that task due to injury. KL Rahul intervening as captain. Since results did not improve under Gill, Tiwary questioned the logic behind dumping Rohit so soon after a major title. “What was the need to remove Rohit Sharma from the captaincy? I am quite sure that if Rohit led even today in the ODIs, it would have been a completely different result,” Tiwary said in an interaction with InsideSport. “Because when they won the Champions Trophy, I think the team was moving in the right direction.” When asked directly whether the management should replace the 26-year-old Gill and reinstate Rohit as captain, Tiwary did not hesitate. “Yes, absolutely. That’s what I suggest because there is still time to correct course. This is about the World Cup. It’s not just a bilateral series or a random tournament that we are going to play,” he said. Tiwary emphasized that Rohit’s leadership experience currently far surpasses that of Gill, especially with a World Cup scheduled for next year. “Rohit is not a little better than Shubman, but he is much better today. That’s why he is such a successful captain,” Tiwary said. “You can win with Shubman’s captaincy, but I suggest comparing the captaincy of both. If Rohit becomes captain, what is the percentage chance of winning? And if Shubman leads, what is the percentage chance of winning? I think everyone will say that if Rohit is the captain, then there is 85-90 per cent chance of winning the World Cup.“ Rohit entered the New Zealand series as the world’s number one ODI batsman after productive outings against Australia and South Africa, but managed just 61 runs in three innings. Meanwhile, Gill scored 135 runs in three innings, including two half-centuries, as India’s opening partner outclassed the former captain with the bat.
