Shame if Rohit Sharma doesn't get India's white-ball captaincy, says Gautam Gambhir

NEW DELHI: Former India batsman Gautam Gambhir said that this is high time to handover India's white-ball or specifically T20I captaincy to Rohit Sharma after he led his side to record fifth Indian Premier League title on Tuesday.

Rohit-led Mumbai Indians from the front and played a captain's knock of 68 runs while chasing a modest target of 157 against Delhi Capitals at Dubai International Stadium.

The former left-handed batsman feels that it is India's loss if Rohit is not appointed as the captain of Men in Blue.

Rohit has won six IPL titles in total. He has won five as the leader of Mumbai Indians while he also won the title in 2009 for Deccan Chargers under the leadership of Adam Gilchrist.

"If Rohit Sharma doesn't become India's captain, it's their loss, not Rohit's. Yes, a captain is only as good as his team and I completely agree with that, but what are the parameters to judge a captain on who is good and who isn't? The parameters and benchmark should be the same. Rohit has led his team to five IPL titles," ESPNcricinfo quoted Gambhir as saying.

Gambhir further added that if the benchmark to become a captain is their record then Rohit has all in his arsenal to be at that position.

"We keep saying MS Dhoni is India's most successful captain. Why? Because he has won two World Cups and three IPLs," Gambhir said. "Rohit has won five IPL titles, he is the most successful captain in the history of the tournament. Going forward, it'll be a shame if he doesn't get India's white-ball or just T20 captaincy. Because he can't do much more than this. He can only help the team he captains to victories. So if he doesn't become India's regular white-ball captain, it will be their loss," he said.

Currently, Virat Kohli leads India in all three formats after MS Dhoni quit the post. But according to Gambhir, India should opt for 'split-captaincy' and give Rohit a chance to lead India in the limited-overs cricket.

"They can also consider split-captaincy. No one is poor. Rohit has shown in white-ball cricket how big the difference is between his and Virat's captaincy. One player had led his team to five titles, the other hasn't won yet. I'm not saying this because Kohli is a poor captain. But he has received the same platform that Rohit has, so you have to judge both of them on the same parameters. Both have been captains in the IPL for the same length of time. I feel Rohit stands out as a leader," Gambhir concluded.