India's newly appointed ODI and T20 skipper Rohit Sharma has begun his preparation for the highly anticipated tour of South Africa. Rohit took to social media to post a video clip of himself engaging in an intense practice session in Mumbai. However, Rohit's appointment has been shrouded in controversy. Now, speculations are rife that, Rohit Sharma kept a condition in front of the selectors that he would not take up just the T20 captaincy. He would accept the leadership role only if the entire white-ball responsibility was entrusted to him.It was indeed a shocking decision as Kohli, who stepped down as India’s T20I captain post the T20 World Cup last month, had said that he will continue leading the national team in the other two formats. However, he was stripped off as ODI skipper ahead of the team’s upcoming tour of South Africa.
BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had revealed that the selectors wanted one skipper for ODIs and T20Is. Hence, the charge was given to Rohit. As per reports, Rohit was having a batting session at the in Mumbai along with Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane around the time the selectors met to appoint him as the ODI skipper. He might not have known about the time of the meetings. However, he had earlier intimated that ODI captaincy should be given to him if the selectors want him to lead the T20I side. Rohit had led India to a 3-0 win over the Black Caps in his first full-time assignment as India's T20I captain. Ahead of the South Africa series, Rohit was appointed as India's Test vice-captain as Ajinkya Rahane lost the role amid continued dip in batting form. Rahane also did not play the 2nd and final Test of the series against New Zealand, which India won 1-0, due to injury concerns. Rohit will be Virat Kohli's deputy in South Africa and the opener will look to continue his good form in whites. Rohit has had a fine run in the longest format of the game ever since he started opening in 2019.
