India white-ball captain Rohit Sharma has been appointed the Test captain ahead of the two-match series against Sri Lanka The first Test against Sri Lanka begins on March 4 in Mohali while the second Test will be a day-night affair in Bengaluru from March 12 onwards.
Virat Kohli has been rested from the T20I series but will return for the Test matches while Rishabh Pant has been rested from Sri Lanka’s entire tour of India along with Shardul Thakur.
On Saturday, chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma made it clear that “Rohit was the unanimous choice” and will be the bridge between the new and old in the current set-up as they groom three potential captaincy materials in KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant.
The selection panel also made some shocking changes to India’s Test squad as senior struggling players Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ishant Sharma and Wriddhiman Saha were dropped from the Test team. Also, senior pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been appointed as T20 & Test vice-captain for the upcoming Sri Lanka series.
Talking about Rohit’s elevation, the star opener was named team India’s white-ball skipper last year and after today’s major announcement, he now leads the national team across all three (T20, ODI, Test) formats.
(With inputs from agencies)
