Picture Credit: Twitter
What a remarkable journey it has been for Rohit Sharma. From someone who started his career as an off-spinner, The Hitman has come a long way and was one of the best batters in Team India in 2021 across formats. Apart from his batting scores, Rohit has proved himself as a leader in the limited opportunities that he has got with Team India, apart from leading his Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians to five titles.
All that led to him being named the full-time white-ball captain of India. An honour that cricketers dream of but something that Rohit has deservedly got. One has to be special to replace Virat Kohli at the helm of affairs in ODIs after he had only stepped from the T20I format and expressed his desire to continue to lead in the ODI as well as Test format. Rohit definitely is special and the numbers suggest but whether he can lead India to an ICC trophy - the only major thing missing from Kohli's stint as India captain - only time will tell.
Apart from his elevation in white-ball cricket, Rohit was also named the vice-captain for the Test matches but unfortunately will not be there for the South Africa Tests due to an injury. Irrespective, the biggest buzz is a google trend surrounding the Mumbai Indians skipper. A search of "New God of Cricket" on the popular search engine shows Rohit Sharma's name in bold letters.
Google shows link to a 2019 article upon search
While the link attached with that is from an article published in 2019, it is well-known how funnily the google algorithm works. Irrespective, the 34-year-old after having been overlooked for a place in the squad in the 2011 World Cup has worked hard on his game and performed consistently to now lead India till at least the ODI World Cup in 2023.
For now, he will want to regain full fitness for the ODIs in South Africa. In place of him, Priyank Panchal, a veteran of 100 first-class matches, has been included in the India squad. He recently led the India A team which was on tour of South Africa and has the advantage of having already sensed the conditions on offer but there is no doubt that India will miss the experience of Rohit.