I Can Expect Virat Kohli And Rohit Sharma To Handle Themselves Well In Ups And Downs: Salman Butt

Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt feels that senior Indian cricketers Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are capable of handling tough moments.

On Wednesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced an 18-member Test squad for the South Africa tour.

Rohit Sharma to completely take over the white-ball captaincy

Apart from announcing the Test squad, the BCCI also mentioned that Rohit will completely take over the leadership of white-ball cricket as he was named the ODI skipper as well.

In the hindsight, Rohit will replace Kohli as captain of ODI, albeit, the latter was keen to continue as India’s skipper in Test and the 50-over format.

Rohit is the senior-most player in the Indian team since he made his debut in 2007 and has played 389 matches across all formats.

With 254 matches, Kohli has played the most ODI games by any Indian player in the current team. He has scored 12,169 runs at an average of 59.07 and the strike rate of 93.17 from his 13 years of playing the format.

Butt feels that both of Rohit and Kohli have an immense level of experience in their international careers and they know how to deal with adversity.

“These players (Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli) are so seasoned, so experienced now that I can expect them to handle themselves well in ups and downs. It remains to be seen how Rohit Sharma does it because he is the permanent captain now,” Butt said on his YouTube channel.

Salman Butt feels that Rohit Sharma will be accountable for the Indian cricket team

Rohit led India in the New Zealand T20I series just after Virat Kohli stepped down from the T20I captaincy role at the end of the T20 World Cup. India blanked the Black Caps 3-0 under the new era of Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid.

Rohit has won the Asia Cup in 2018 and the Nidahas Trophy in the same year and has also led the team in various bilateral series in Kohli’s absence.

Butt said that now the onus will be on Rohit Sharma to take every challenge and he must be ready for the circumstances of holding one of the biggest posts in the Indian cricket team.

“Rohit Sharma is no longer the stand-in captain, where he has the pressure only for one match or one tournament. People will talk about him now. For a change now, whatever good or bad happens, people will attach it with Rohit Sharma’s name and not Virat Kohli. So it is a different feel altogether,” Butt said.

Some reports have suggested that the decision to sack Kohli from ODI captaincy was taken by the national selectors.

Also Read: Virat Kohli Wanted To Remain ODI Captain, Not Being Able To Win An ICC Trophy Could Have Cost ODI Captaincy – Saba Karim