India’s reluctance to go for split captaincy 

Leadership is an important aspect of team games. Of these, the captain’s role is most distinct in cricket. It is him or her who takes decisions on the field. Others around can offer suggestions, but the call has to be taken by captains. After limited-over games became popular, teams felt the need to split the responsibility according to the requirements of the formats.

After Australia started having different captains for Tests and one-dayers, this became the practice everywhere. The only country not to have tried this as a strategy is India. Sourav Ganguly, president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and one of India’s best captains ever, said as late as in July that Indian teams do not need this.

A major reason India did not think of it all this while was the presence of M S Dhoni, who led in all formats. But it is unfair to expect that his successor Virat Kohli, or anybody else, will also have Dhoni’s phenomenal ability to adapt and do the job in Test matches, one-dayers and T20s. The cry for split captaincy roles in India is not unjustified.

Had Rohit Sharma’s leadership skills not come to the fore in the Indian Premier League (IPL), this may not have been discussed. But his remarkable run of success for Mumbai Indians and Kohli’s disappointing run as captain of Royal Challengers Bangalore has sparked this debate. As next October’s T20 World Cup comes closer, this will get louder. Going by performance in a keenly contested tournament and how they react to pressure in this format, Rohit the captain seems to be better than Kohli.

But then, this is not just about Kohli or Rohit. They will not decide this. The decision has to be taken by the BCCI. For a body unwilling to have different captains so far, this will take some soul searching and a cultural change. To say ‘we have never done this’ is foolish as it was never as important as it is now. If not immediately, a day will come when Indian teams will need this. The irony is, even an astute cricket brain like Ganguly’s is refusing to acknowledge this.