'Rohit Sharma is hard to replace': Michael Clarke warns BCCI over Shubman Gill captaincy move

Former Australia National Cricket Team captain Michael Clarke has shared his views on the Test retirement of the India National Cricket Team modern-day great Rohit Sharma.

Michael Clarke also issued a colossal warning to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as they hunt for a new captain to replace Rohit Sharma in the longest format of the game.

Also Read: Michael Clarke shares blunt opinion on Virat Kohli’s Test retirement call

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BCCI finalizes new Test captain as Rohit Sharma retires

Rohit Sharma recently announced through Instagram that he would be retiring from Test cricket and would not be available for selection for the India tour of England 2025.

His retirement opens the door for a new Test captain to be appointed, and the likes of Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant were some of the names discussed for the role.

As per several reports, Shubman Gill seems to be the frontrunner to take over the Test captaincy of the Indian team, and the star wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant is likely to serve as his deputy.

Jasprit Bumrah, who was Rohit Sharma's deputy in Test cricket, is no longer in consideration for a leadership role because of his fitness issues and workload management.

Earlier, a similar kind of thing happened with all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who served as vice-captain under Rohit Sharma in white-ball cricket, but when it was time to name a new T20I captain, the BCCI chose Suryakumar Yadav over Pandya because the latter is quite an injury-prone cricketer.

He is a player that any team would miss - Michael Clarke

With reports hinting at Shubman Gill's appointment as the new India Test captain, Michael Clarke has come up with a major warning for the BCCI.

Michael Clarke said that India will miss the services of Rohit Sharma in Test cricket, especially as captain, because he is a tactical genius.

The former Australia skipper added that replacing Rohit will be very hard for any player, and the current India ODI captain reads the game exceptionally well.

“He is a player that any team would miss,” stated Clarke as quoted by RevSportz. "Tactically as a captain he will be very hard to replace. He read the game exceptionally well.”

If Kuldeep plays, I honestly believe he can be the difference - Michael Clarke

Ahead of the India tour of England, Rohit has retired, and Virat Kohli has made the decision to retire. This means India will have quite an inexperienced middle-order when they face the Three Lions.

However, that's not the only issue as the form and fitness of Mohammed Shami has been a major concern and reportedly, he might not he on the flight to England. Also, Mohammed Siraj has failed to impress the BCCI selectors and the team management.

Meanwhile, Michael Clarke said that in the bowling department, Kuldeep Yadav would be the difference maker in the five-match Test series against England, and he would be India's trump card. He stated:

“If Kuldeep plays I honestly believe he can be the difference between the two teams. He is bowling that well.”