Irfan Pathan opposes split captaincy and coaching in Indian cricket, citing the ample player pool’s capability to handle the workload, criticizing BCCI’s decision to appoint three captains for the South Africa tour.
The BCCI’s decision to appoint three different captains for the South Africa tour—Suryakumar Yadav for T20Is and KL Rahul for ODIs due to Rohit Sharma’s white-ball break—has sparked criticism from former cricketer Irfan Pathan. Expressing his discontent on Star Sports, Pathan disapproved of the concept of split captaincy and coaching, drawing parallels to England’s approach. He stressed the depth of India’s player pool and suggested workload management can be handled without resorting to multiple captains and coaching staff for red and white ball cricket.
“This could be a sign for the future, which I am not a big fan of. There has been talk for a long time about whether we can do split captaincy. It’s true that workload management has been done here and that is why you are seeing such big squads and different captains. It’s clear that Rohit Sharma had to take a break from white-ball cricket, so you are not seeing him there,” Pathan said.
“You are seeing him as the captain for Test cricket. However, you might see these things going forward. You might even see different coaches for different formats. I believe it’s better if it doesn’t happen in our culture,” he added.
There’s uncertainty about Rohit Sharma’s return to white-ball cricket, potentially before the T20 World Cup. KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya are poised as favorites to potentially replace him as the next white-ball skipper, with a decision expected before the next IPL edition.
India had different captains lately for workload management, like Hardik in T20Is, Dhawan, and Rahul in ODIs during Rohit’s captaincy. Rohit hasn’t led the T20I team since the 2022 World Cup loss; Hardik stepped in for a year but is out due to an ankle injury. After a great ODI World Cup, Rohit and Kohli requested a break, leading BCCI to announce three captains against South Africa for ODIs and T20Is.
Last Updated on December 4, 2023
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