The inception of Rohit Sharma as India's T20 Captain may have come a bit late but it is still better to be late than sorry.
Rohit Sharma who is often identified as one of the sharpest minds of Indian cricket has 5 IPL titles under his belt. Apart from the IPL heroics, Rohit has time and again shown his captaincy expertise in the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli and has rarely disappointed.
Rohit comes with the USP of being one of the coolest minds on the cricket field. His philosophy of bringing the best out of his players by backing them day in and day out has earned him the tag of being a "Player's Captain."
With Rahul Dravid taking up the helm as India's head coach till 2023 World Cup and with the World T20 scheduled next year in Australia implies that Rohit Sharma has one year in his hand to champion his side into a World T20 Champion.
Rohit Sharma's first assignment was the T20 series at home against New Zealand and it doesn't need to be said that he got the basics right from the word go. India crushed New Zealand 3–0 and scripted a brilliant whitewash at home.
Some of the major challenges that lies ahead of Rohit Sharma are:
•Building a team based on T20 Specialists:
This has been a far waited cry but team India needs to focus on building a side comprising of T20 specialists. The IPL has been a platform that has offered India with a plethora of future Indian cricketers like Rituraj Gaikwad, Devdut Paddikal, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan to name a few. The duo of Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid has a major task of fast tracking these players into the national setup soon and get them enough match experience so that they are ready for the World T20 in Australia.
•Addressing India's middle order conundrum:
This may not seem so apparent but there lies a persistent issue in India's middle order especially in number 4 position. Rohit Sharma has tried and rotated the likes of Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer and even debutant Venkatesh Iyer at the said position but none could stamp the authority yet. With Virat Kohli probably back in the mix soon it would be interesting to see how Rohit and co addresses the issues in the middle.
•Identifying India's main bowlers:
At the recently concluded World T20, one of the major concerns of India that got reflected was India's bowling lineup. Barring Jasprit Bumrah, the other pace bowlers looked out of place in the T20 format. It is high time that India recognises the format specific bowlers soon as the World T20 at down under is not far away.
•Solving the All-rounder fiasco:
One of the major problems that has been bothering India for a long time is the absence of a quality all rounder who can also be the 5th bowling option while batting at 6. Hardik Pandya had performed the role brilliantly over the years but with injury limiting his appearances India needs to find a backup of him in the shorter format of the game. Notably it was Venkatesh Iyer who played as the pace bowling all-rounder for Team India in the T20 series against New Zealand.
•Building a team for the future:
Rohit Sharma is currently aged 34. By the time the next T20 World Cup gets over, he will be probably at the last legs of his international career. Even the likes of Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and other seniors will be in the same age bracket as Rohit. Apart from building a champion side, Rohit will also have to build a team that would serve Indian cricket for the years to come. With Rahul Dravid knowing the pulse of the under 19 stars of Indian cricket inside out, it will be easier for Rohit Sharma to ensure that the transition is smooth and successful.
•To win India a T20 World Cup:
Last but not the least, Rohit Sharma has to build a side that would make India the T20 World Champions yet again. The World T20 title has eluded India since 2007 when Ms Dhoni led India to the inaugural edition of the T20 World Cup. Interestingly, Rohit Sharma who was a part of the World Cup winning side back and is currently the only active player from that squad will definitely try to finish off his career on a high by winning the T20 World Cup as a captain.
The Indian T20 Team has started on a promising note under the leadership of Rohit Sharma. It will be interesting to see how this team sustains and transforms itself into a champion side under Rohit Sharma's captaincy.