"Is Rohit Sharma fit to lead India?"- Ex-IND Legend on Rohit's fragile fitness amid India's preparations for 2023 ODI WC
It was not much time ago when Rohit Sharma took over the all-format captaincy of India. Since then, Team India has played a total of 68 games (5 Tests, 21 ODIs, and 42 T20Is) across all three formats. However, Rohit has only appeared in 39 of those games.
He has been part of two tests, eight ODIs, and 29 T20Is as a captain. One of the main reasons for Rohit not playing every game was the BCCI's decision to manage the workload of the players with the T20 World Cup in mind. But Rohit's fitness was another issue, which kept him out of some games.
He has been out of the lineup across formats because of his fragile fitness. Meanwhile, Rohit's form has been another talking point in the past year. Former 1983 ODI World Cup-winning captain Kapil Dev has shown concern over his fitness.
In an interview on ABP News, Kapil said that there is no question about the quality and skills of the Indian captain, but it is his fitness that has always remained a question mark. He stated that the 35-year-old has been the backbone of the Indian batting in the last decade along with Virat Kohli.
Kapil said, "There's no shortcoming in Rohit Sharma. He has everything but I personally think, there is a huge question mark over his fitness. Is he fit enough? Because a captain should be someone who motivates the other players to get fitter, the teammates should feel proud of their captain."
The World Cup-winning skipper also added that there is always doubt about Rohit's fitness, which has drawn a lot of criticism in the recent past. The Indian captain suffered an injury to his thumb in the ODI series against Bangladesh and was ruled out of the two tests.
However, he will be back in the upcoming ODI series against Sri Lanka starting on January 10. He is not part of the ongoing T20I series against Sri Lanka, along with other senior players. But India would like to see Rohit fully fit and in form because he will be an important player for the team in the 2023 ODI World Cup.