Rohit Sharma Has All The Credentials To Captain The Indian Team, Says Salman Butt

Former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt has said that India’s newly-appointed ODI captain Rohit Sharma has all the credentials to lead the team. Butt also spoke about how carefully Sharma is responding to the criticisms of Virat Kohli’s sacking from the captaincy in the ODI format.

Sharma has been appointed as the captain for the three-match ODI series as the selectors didn’t want to split the white-ball leadership among Kohli and Sharma. The decision has received a lot of flak from the netizens on Twitter.

BCCI released a short video interview with the Mumbai-born player on Sunday, December 12 where he spoke about multiple topics ranging from Kohli, Rahul Dravid to team culture. He lauded Kohli for leading the team in the last five years.

He also said that as a captain his job will be to focus on the goal rather than listening to the outside noise and believes that the players need to focus on the process rather than the end results. Reacting to the interview, Butt explained how the 34-year-old is smartly responding to every criticism.

Salman Butt explains why Rohit Sharma was bound to take over the leadership role

“Rohit Sharma is countering every point very intelligently. There are all kinds of talks floating on social media w.r.t. to the send-off (from captaincy) given to Kohli. Rohit Sharma has all the credentials (to take over the role); he is an outstanding player and a great captain and he was bound to take over next,” the ex-Pakistan skipper said on his YouTube channel.

The left-hander added that it makes sense to have only one captain in the T20Is and ODIs. He also added that in the coming days, Virat Kohli will understand and will support Sharma.

“It makes sense to have only a single captain in white-ball cricket. Somewhere down the line, Virat Kohli will also understand this. They have been the captain and vice-captain for several years. There should be no issue if they back each other,

“Rohit Sharma is trying to keep everything calm and cool. What he has said is also true as Kohli has raised the bar of Indian cricket with his intensity,” the left-hander added.

The Lahore-born player further added that Sharma could just be a short-term captain as currently, no other player was ready to take the job.

“Sharma could just be a short-term captain. Being 34 years old, the player is expected to play for only the next 3-4 years. I don’t think any other player was ready apart from Sharma for the captaincy role at the moment,” the Lahore-born player said.

Currently, Sharma has pulled his hamstring and is unavailable for the three-match Test series against South Africa starting from December 26. Priyank Panchal has been drafted as his replacement in the Test squad. His availability in the ODI series is also doubtful.